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Food Friends We Neglect 

A Group of Rich Nutrients which 

Deserve Seats of Honor 

at Our Tables 



By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS 

Food Advisor of The People's Home Journal; Author of 

"Foods that Will Win the War" and "Making 

the Most of Our Meat Supply"; Food 

Economist of national 

reputation. 



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PRIVATELY PRINTED BY 

THE PEOPLE'S HOME JOURNAL 

NEW YORK 






COPYRIGHT, 1921 

THE PEOPLE'S HOME JOURNAL 

NEW YORK 



JiiN -7 1921 



©CIA614786 



CONTENTS 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 
PAGE NINE 

CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 
PAGE TWENTY-THREE 

WHY WE SHOULD EAT MORE LAMB 
PAGE THIRTY-SIX 

REASONS FOR RAISINS 
PAGE FORTY-EIGHT 

>< 

THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 
PAGE SIXTY 

THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 
PAGE SEVENTY-FOUR 






FOREWORD 



T 

^ HROUGH long centuries of habit our food 
tastes have run in a rut. 

In refusing nature's repeated invitation to feast 
on certain of her most plentiful and valuable food 
gifts, we have not only limited the pleasures of eating, 
but notably lessened its profits in health, strength 
and efficiency. 

Most of us have long regarded nuts as food inci- 
dentals — fit only for palate-sharpening tidbits — and 
until quite recently have viewed citrus fruits largely 
in the light of table ornaments. 

Though milk is universally recognized as the most 
perfect form of human nutriment, a majority of 
people still fail to use one-half as much as they 
should. This neglect costs the American people mil- 
lions of dollars a day in undeveloped physical energy. 

Although the public mind has been changing in 
regard to the value of dates, figs and prunes, these 
rich nutritive fruits, which also serve as ideal regula- 



tors of the most important body functions, are not 
used as freely as they should be. And as for lamb, 
an unwarranted prejudice in favor of beef and pork 
has crowded it out of the menu in a manner which 
should bring shame to commonsense men and women. 
Millions of people have yet to know this really 
marvelous group of rich nutrients as their best food 
friends. To reveal them as such is the purpose of 
these pages. 

C. Houston Goudiss. 



O0OOOO000OO<>XXX3O0OOO0OO0O0C)0C)OO0C)O0OOOO00CH3OOO00C<XXDOO00CXX3OCXDOClCKXXXX^ 



In Justice to a Neglected Food 



or 



THE DIET VALUE 

OF NUTS 



OW are nuts used in your home? 
If you belong to the great army of good-natured, 
every-day Americans your answer will be like this : 

"Well, sometimes we have salted almonds for din- 
ner and once in a while during the winter we serve 
nuts and raisins at the close of a special meal. Then 
we treat the children to them between meals and not 
infrequently make nut candy of some sort. Nuts are 
so nice to munch on, and we'd eat more of them if 
they were not so hard to digest." 

Such a reply would be accepted as a matter of 
course in any group. But think of the laughter and 
exclamations that would greet a like answer to the 
query, "How do you use beefsteak in your home?" 
Think, also, what would happen to the members of 
your household if beefsteak were served as a side 
dish with meals in which meat, vegetables, salad and 
dessert played their proper part; if it were passed 
around at the end of a hearty feast, and eaten by the 
children between meals! The mere thought is ab- 
surd, you say. So it is — but not so absurd as the use 
now made of nuts in most American homes. For 
nuts not only are a food like beefsteak, potatoes, 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

bread and milk, but heartier than any of these, and 
their common use as a relish, tidbit or confection 
constitutes the most notable food misuse in the 
world today. 

This misuse is not prevalent among all people, 
however, but curiously enough exists chiefly among 
those in the best position to know better — highly 
civilized folk who have easy access to knowledge of 
nutrition. As far back as history goes we find nuts 
being used as a staple article of food, and today 
among certain uncivilized or half-civilized groups 
they are accorded this proper place. 

In the earliest books of the Bible we find mention 
of the almond and chestnut, and in the early history 
of our own land nuts played an important part. The; 
Pilgrim Fathers, who came to these shores just 300 
years ago, found in them a valuable means of sup- 
porting life, and rejoiced in a sustaining food so 
freely provided and so easily obtained. Like all 
pioneers in wooded parts of this country, they were 
forced at times to depend largely on nuts, especially 
when field crops proved insufiicient. Necessity taught 
them the nutritional value which science has since 
attested. So it seems strange that, with such exam- 
ples, we Americans should now lead the world in 
mistaking a most valuable food for a mere occasion- 
al luxury. 

It is unfortunate as well as strange, for this wrong 
attitude not only has led to an unjust estimation of 
nuts as food, but has caused us to waste annually 
millions of dollars' worth of nutritive elements vital 

10 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

to the upbuilding and maintenance of physical effi- 
ciency — and placed within easy reach in a most ideal 
form. 

When told the American people used 40,000,000 
pounds of almonds last year, and that during the 
decade immediately preceding the war we consumed 
annually some $13,000,000 worth of imported nuts — 
to say nothing of equally large quantities of home- 
grown peanuts, English walnuts, pecans and hick- 
ory nuts — it might seem at first glance that we are 
not neglecting this admirable form of highly con- 
centrated food. But 40,000,000 pounds of almonds 
represents a per capita consumption of less than 8 
ounces a year, and the sum total of all nuts eaten 
by us last year did not more than equal in weight 
the amount of meat we eat in a couple of weeks. 

Such figures would not constitute an indictment 
of our common sense were it not that nuts are the 
best possible substitute for meat — someone rightly 
has called them "vegetable meat" — and that if we 
properly varied our diet with them as such, we would 
effect a considerable saving in the cost of living as 
well as aid in bringing down the cost of meat, the 
price of which is now pressing heavily upon all 
classes of humanity. 

Nuts Are Not Indigestible 

The common impression that nuts are indigestible 
would speedily vanish if they were rightly used as a 
staple food, for this misconception is based on our 
wrong use of them. 

11 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

In the fii'st place, of all foods they demand the 
most thorough mastication. In their natural state 
they are of very firm texture and unless chewed to a 
paste, they enter the stomach in small, hard pieces 
which successfully defy the most persistent efforts 
of the digestive juices. Experiments have shown 
that these particles pass through the alimentary 
canal in the same manner as foreign bodies ; that un- 
less the nuts are ground fine in the mouth and mixed 
well with the saliva their rich food content is entire- 
ly lost to the body. 

Most persons fail to chew any food to the proper 
texture, but in the case of nuts such failure trans- 
forms a notable source of sustenance into a disturber 
of digestion. It would be just as reasonable to swal- 
low olives whole as it is to eat nuts the way we ordi- 
narily do. 

This, then, is the first commandment in the use of 
nuts — chew! If, for any reason, complete mastica- 
tion is hard to attain, use the nut pastes. Because 
complete mastication is so essential nuts should not 
be given to children before the eighth year, and even 
then peanut and nut butters are a better addition to 
the diet than whole nuts. Chestnuts are somewhat 
of an exception to this rule because they are usually 
eaten cooked, and consist largely of starch, which is 
more easily digested than the fat of other varieties. 

AVhen properly prepared for the stomach, nuts 
are in a condition to be as easily and completely di- 
gested as any food rich in nutrition — indeed, more 
so than some of the staples which adorn every man's 

12 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

table. But even when we chew them sufficiently, 
most of us eat them on top of a meal, at a time when 
the body's food department has on hand as much or 
more work than it should be asked to do ; or between 
meals, when the digestive machinery needs a rest. 

When Should Nuts Be Eaten? 

Whenever it's time for a hearty meal, it's time 
for nuts ! 

If you want more detailed guidance in this mat- 
ter of making right use of a sadly neglected food- 
stuff, remember that nuts should be eaten at the 
table and not at the end of a meal ; that they should 
constitute a main dish and not be nibbled as a tidbit. 
If this sounds strange, it is only because we have got 
into the habit of misusing nuts — and bad habits are 
hard to break. 

The average nut, being rich in fat, must be com- 
bined in the diet with a proper proportion of starchy 
and green foods so this fat may be neutralized, just 
as in the case of fat meats. Hence the need for deal- 
ing with them in exactly the same way we deal with 
meat and cheese and other highly concentrated foods 
— though, as you presently will see, nuts provide 
more highly concentrated nutriment than either of 
these old stand-bys used daily in every home. 

These statements are based on exhaustive scien- 
tific experiments made by government chemists and 
dietitians and other scientific experts. Such experi- 
ments have shown that nuts like the almond, Eng- 
lish walnut, pecan, hickory nut and peanut — though 

13 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

the last-named is not really a nut, but a legunie — 
pass through the digestive process in normal time, 
do not place undue strain on the system, and are as- 
similated in almost the same measure as meat, bread, 
potatoes and other foods we find on every table 
every day. 

So much for the reputed indigestibility of nuts. 
Now for a word as to their remarkable food value. 

Nuts Have the Highest Food Value 

Briefly stated, they are the most highly nour- 
ishing of all foods. Taken as a whole, they supply 
the body with twice as much heat and energy, ounce 
for ounce, as sugar. 

With the exception of the chestnut, which is nota- 
bly rich in starch and is the only member of the nut 
family so endowed, the nuts most popular are rich 
in fat and protein — heat and energy elements and 
tissue-builders and repairers — with a relatively small 
content of carbohydrates and enough cellulose to 
give them desirable bulk in the process of intestinal 
digestion. It is this large proportion of cellulose 
that necessitates thorough chewing. 

Using ten of the best known and most widely used 
nuts as a basis for our figures — the almond, Brazil 
nut, chestnut, cocoanut, filbert, hickory nut, peanut, 
pecan, walnut and pine nut — we find they supply 
an average of 2869 calories (heat energy units) to 
the pound, their nearest competitors in this matter 
being cheese with 2145 calories, wheat flour with 
1650, beans and raisins with 1605 each, white bread 

14 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

1215 and round steak with 950. The hickory nut 
ranks highest with 3345 calories to the pound and 
the chestnut lowest with 1140. Of course, these fig- 
ures and all others used in this article refer to shelled 
nuts. 

The fat content of these ten representative nuts 
averages 55%, the pecan leading with 71% and the 
chestnut lagging behind with only 6%. In the mat- 
ter of protein the average is nearly 16%, the peanut 
boasting of 30% and the chestnut of little more than 
6%. This indicates larger average food worth in 
this important element than eggs, wheat flour, po- 
tatoes, or white bread, and almost as much as round 
steak. 

When it comes to carbohydrates — sugar and 
starch content — the average is 15%, with the chest- 
nut showing more than 41% and the Brazil nut less 
than 6%. All in all, it can be seen from these figures 
that nuts supply three of the five vital food elements 
in more concentrated form than is found elsewhere 
in the whole range of food material. In this partic- 
ular they outrank even cheese. 

And as if nature had tried to show how much of 
food value she could crowd into a small space, it has 
lately been reported from various scientific sources 
that most nuts contain vitamines — those indispen- 
sable accessory food elements which have been re- 
vealed only within the last dozen years. According 
to the Medical Research Committee of London, 
both the Fat-Soluble A and Water-Soluble B vita- 
mines are found in nuts, the latter predominating. 

15 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

What Nuts Are Best? 

All nuts are good and good for us, if properly 
eaten at proper times, but the five most popular in 
present-day estimation are the almond, cocoanut, 
peanut, English walnut and pecan. With the ex- 
ception of the cocoanut, all of these grow profusely 
in the United States — indeed, their cultivation on a 
large scale within recent years has brought into ac- 
tive existence a new commercial development of im- 
pressive proportions, and annually expanding. 

The almond, by many ranked at the head of the 
list, not only possesses an unusually fine flavor, but 
has the distinction of providing one-fifth of its weight 
in protein of the highest quality, half its weight in a 
fat oil that is remarkably digestible, and one-sixth 
of its weight in sugar. In addition to these virtues 
it possesses the peculiar property of supplying a de- 
licious milk or cream when blanched and thoroughly 
crushed and mixed with water. 

As for the cocoanut, its popularity is based on its 
unique flavor, and in this part of the world it is es- 
teemed especially as a confection and dessert mate- 
rial. It is rich in fat and sugar and, like the chest- 
nut, contains a large percentage of cellulose or 
bulky material. 

Though really a member of the bean family, the 
peanut is by common consent included in the nut 
group, and is more largely used as nuts should be — 
as a food — than any other member of this family. 
Since the introduction of peanut butter it has be- 
come a household staple — and in this connection it 

16 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

is well to remember that this food delight can be 
made far easier to handle if one mixes with it, at the 
time of using, a little milk or cream. 

Peanuts contain 50% more protein than the best 
cuts of beefsteak, but their total food value does not 
equal that of the pecan, which has been said to be 
"the most highly nutritious of all the natural prod- 
ucts of the vegetable kingdom." 

One pound of shelled pecans contains more avail- 
able food-fuel for the body than four pounds of 
beef. With the exception of pure fat, no other food 
substance offers nutritive material in such concen- 
trated form. Always a favorite with lovers of nuts 
— and especially appreciated by those who have 
learned how to use them in the daily diet — the Eng- 
lish walnut, now so extensively cultivated in Cali- 
fornia, is being used in larger quantities each year. 
It is rich in flavor and particularly well suited to the 
preparation of substantial dishes — for desserts and 
as a meat substitute. 

Are Nuts Better Raw or Cooked? 

When properly masticated, as already noted, 
nuts are one foodstuff that do not require cooking. 
Many palatable dishes can be made with them — 
some of which admirably take the place of meat — 
but one of their chief claims to popular inclusion in 
the daily diet is their availability without cooking. 

However eaten, it is always necessary to salt them 
in order to facilitate digestion. 

The protein of the nut consists of a substance 

17 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

called globulin, which is soluble in salt solution, and 
as nuts must be reduced to liquid form before they 
can be digested, the addition of salt is an important 
factor. Salt is not so necessary in the case of roasted 
nuts, but it serves to create a flow of saliva by mak- 
ing the nuts more palatable and thereby aids in their 
digestion. 

The Relation of Nuts to Health 

Not alone because of their high food value, but 
quite as much on account of their health-promoting 
properties, should we make haste to correct our 
prevalent misuse of nuts. By reason of their large 
content of vegetable oil and generous proportion of 
cellulose, they are a natural laxative, and those who 
eat them regularly seldom are troubled with consti- 
pation. But their health value in this regard should 
not be accepted as a warrant to make them a sole 
article of diet, as some faddists advocate. 

Of all foods at oiu* disposal none is delivered to 
us by nature in such sweet, cleanly condition. The 
highest development of the modern art of sanitary 
packing is at best only a poor attempt in this direc- 
tion when compared to the nutshell. As a matter of 
fact, nut meats as taken from whole, uninjured 
shells are as aseptic as anything in nature, and being 
free from putrefactive bacteria they do not readily 
undergo decay either in the body or outside of it. 

They are a most economical food also, for when 
bought shelled they are absolutely free from waste. 
And they are a year-round food, especially adapted 

18 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

to winter use because of the unusually high caloric 
value which distinguishes them among other foods. 
As one dietitian has said, they are "health food 
products." As all dietitians agree, we are not mak- 
ing anything like the proper use of them. That is 
why nuts have not seemed to "understand" us! As 
a matter of fact, we do not understand them as we 
should and as we must. When we are properly ac- 
quainted with them all the old prejudice will vanish 
— and a vast new food field will be opened up for 
all of us to take advantage of. 



19 



NOVEL AND WHOLESOME RECIPES 
FOR TASTY NUT DISHES 

Chestnut Pie 

To shell the chestnuts for this dish boil them ten minutes, then drain 
and remove shell and inner skin with a sharp knife. Cut one cupful of 
mushrooms in small pieces and cook for five minutes with one table- 
spoonful of butter. Make a sauce from five tablespoonfuls of butter, 
five tablespoonfuls of flour and one cupful of milk and cook until it is 
thick and smooth. Arrange one quart of the shelled chestnuts in alter- 
nate layers with the mushrooms in a greased baking dish. Pour the 
sauce, seasoned with salt and paprika, over them, cover with a quarter- 
inch crust and bake in a hot oven about twenty minutes, or until well 
browned. 

Brazil Nut Cutlets 

Shell one-half pound of Brazil nuts, remove the inner skin and put 
through a meat chopper with two cupfuls of bread crumbs. Melt one 
and one-half tablespoonfuls of butter; two tablespoonfuls of flour; one 
cupful of milk. Cook until thick and smooth and add one teaspoonful 
of salt; one teaspoonful of chopped parsley; one-quarter teaspoonful 
of thyme. When well mixed shape into small cutlets and let them stand 
until cold. Dip in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs and fry a 
golden brown in deep hot fat. Drain on soft paper and serve with 
tomato, brown or bread sauce. 

Mock Turkey Loaf 

Cook two cupfuls of lentils, beans or peas until tender. Drain and 
mash through a colander. Add two slightly beaten eggs and mix thor- 
oughly with the following: One-half cupful of toasted bread crumbs, 
one-half cupful of browned flour, two teaspoonfuls of celery salt, one 
teaspoonful of ground sage, one cupful of strained tomato or one-half 
cupful of catsup, two cupfuls of finely chopped peanuts or walnuts, 
one-quarter cupful of thin cream, one tablespoonful of finely minced 
onion, one teaspoonful salt. Shape in a loaf and bake twenty to thirty 
minutes in a hot oven. Serve with brown sauce. 

Potato and Peanut Croquettes 

Mix together two cupfuls of mashed potatoes, one cupful of finely 
chopped peanuts, one teaspoonful of salt, a few grains of cayenne and 
one egg yolk. Shape into croquettes. Roll in very fine bread crumbs, 
then in beaten egg-white and again in crumbs. Fry in deep hot fat, 
drain and serve with sauce made by mixing two tablespoonfuls of chili 
sauce or catsup with one cupful of white sauce. 

Nut and Fruit Sandwich Filling 

Put one cupful of any kind of nutmeats, one cupful of raisins and 
one-fourth pound of figs through meat chopper, using a small knife. 

20 



THE DIET VALUE OF NUTS 

Mix thoroughly and add enough orange juice to make a paste that will 
spread easily. Use with graham, wholewheat or oatmeal bread. This 
paste may be kept in a covered jar in the ice-box for a week or longer. 

Graham Nut Bread 

Mix and sift two cupfuls of graham flour, one-half cupful of white 
flour, one-third cupful of sugar, one tablespoonful of baking powder, 
one and one-half teaspoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful of baking soda. 
Beat one egg, add one and one-half cupfuls of sour milk or buttermilk 
and stir into the dry mixture. Beat until smooth, add four tablespoon- 
fuls of melted fat and one cupful of chopped walnuts or pecans and 
beat again until well mixed. Pour into a well-greased pan and let stand 
for thirty minutes. Bake in a moderate oven for about forty minutes. 
Let stand twenty-four hours before slicing. 

Tomato and Nut Salad 

Mix one quart of canned tomatoes, one teaspoonful of salt, one tea- 
spoonful of sugar, one tablespoonful of parsley, one-half teaspoonful 
of celery salt, one-half medium sized onion, simmer for twenty minutes 
and strain. Soak three tablespoonfuls of gelatine in one-half cupful of 
cold water for five minutes, then add the hot strained tomato juice. 
Cool until it begins to thicken, then stir in one cupful of shredded cab- 
bage, one cupful of chopped walnut meats and pour into small wet 
molds. Chill and serve on lettuce with mayonnaise dressing. 

Normandy Salad 

Drain and chill two cupfuls of cooked peas and mix with one cupful 
of diced celery, one cupful of chopped walnut meats, one teaspoonful 
of salt and enough mayonnaise to moisten. Arrange in a mound on a 
bed of crisp lettuce or watercress. Cover with mayonnaise and sprinkle 
with one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. 

Nut and Potato Salad 

Wash, drain and shred two small heads or one large head of lettuce, 
then arrange in a mound in the center of the salad dish. Mix three 
cups of diced cold potatoes with one-half cupful of mixed nut meats, 
chopped fine, and a little mayonnaise seasoned with a little minced 
onion, and place them around the lettuce. Cut two pickled beets into 
cubes or fancy shapes and stand them around the base of the lettuce 
mound. Pour a little mayonnaise over the lettuce and sprinkle with 
two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley. 

Steamed Nut Bread 

Mix together and sift one cupful each of cornmeal, graham or rye 
flour and white flour, three-fourths of a tablespoonful of baking soda, 
one and one-half teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix three-fourths of a cupful 
of molasses and two cupfuls of sour milk or buttermilk. Pour wet mix- 
ture into dry mixture and stir until well mixed. Add one to one and 

21 



IN JUSTICE TO A NEGLECTED FOOD 

one-half cupfuls of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, pour into well 
greased molds, filling them two-thirds full. Cover and steam three to 
three and one-half hours. 

Nut Brown Squares 

Mix one cupful of brown sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and 
yolks of three eggs together until very light. Chop one cupful of nut 
meats and one cupful of pitted dates very fine, and mix with one-half 
cupful of pastry flour, then stir them into the egg mixture. Fold in 
the stifiiy beaten egg whites and pour into a well-greased shallow pan. 
Bake in a slow oven about thirty-five minutes. Remove at once from 
the pan and cut in smaU squares when partly cold. These will keep 
moist for ten days if packed in a stone crock or tin box. 

Savory Batter Pudding 

Sift one cupful of flour into a bowl. Break in two eggs and add one 
and one-half cupfuls of milk gradually while beating the mixture. 
When smooth and fuU of bubbles, let it stand for a half hour. Melt 
four tablespoonfuls of butter, add three medium sized onions, sliced 
very thin, and cook slowly until the onions begin to turn yellow. Add 
two cupfuls of canned tomatoes, one teaspoonful of salt and one-eighth 
of a teaspoonful of white pepper. Cover and cook for twenty minutes. 
Grind one-fourth of a pound of shelled hazel nuts and mix with one 
cupful of soft bread crumbs. Spread the onion and tomato mixture in 
the bottom of a greased shallow baking dish. Cover with the bread 
crumbs and nuts. Sprinkle with a little salt and pour the batter over 
the top. Bake forty minutes in a hot oven. 

Steamed Cherry and Almond Pudding 

Mix two cupfuls of stale bread crumbs, one-half cupful of sugar, 
three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and one cupful of scalded milk 
and let stand for half an hour. Then add the beaten yolks of three 
eggs, one-half cupful of blanched chopped almonds and grated rind of 
one lemon. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and arrange alternate 
layers of the pudding and canned pitted cherries, using one and one- 
half cupfuls for the whole pudding, in a well greased mold. Cover and 
steam for two hours. Serve with a sauce made from the cherry juice 
thickened with cornstarch and flavored with lemon juice. 

Nut Biscuit 

Mix as for plain biscuit the following: Two cupfuls of flour, three- 
fourths teaspoonful of salt, one cupful of chopped nut meats, about 
one-half cupful of milk, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two 
tablespoonfuls of shortening, three tablespoonfuls of sugar and one egg. 
Brush with milk, sprinkle with nuts and bake in hot oven about twelve 
minutes. 



22 



00O0O0O0000OOOOOO0O00O0O00O00O0O0OOCXX>O0C<X>0000OOCO00OOOC>0<X30OO00O 



Citrus Fruits as Health Builders 



<J)£ 



WHAT THE ORANGE AND ITS 

KIN MEAN TO MAN 



'ANY a man who still has enough 
hair to part in the middle, many a woman who can 
say she is under forty without exciting undue sus- 
picion, will easily recall the "good old times" when 
oranges had two stated uses in the homes of well- 
to-do folk — table decorations on special occasions 
and toe-fillers for Christmas stockings. Once in a 
while a daring doctor would let a convalescent pa- 
tient sip a little orange juice, or a good child would 
receive one of these golden globes as a reward of 
merit, and exhibit it as a treasure. 

In those days — ^how far away they seem when 
measured by change instead of time — the lemon had 
a firmer foothold in the family larder. Few persons 
outside the large cities, however, had ever seen a 
grapefruit, and those whose curiosity led them to 
invest in this ponderous pomelo were apt to be dis- 
appointed by finding nearly an inch of rind enfold- 
ing a pitifully small portion of bitter pulp. The 
kimiquat, or Chinese orange, most diminutive mem- 
ber of the citrus clan, was rarely seen outside of 
Pacific coast markets patronized chiefly by almond- 
eyed orientals, and the lime, thin-skinned and aro- 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 

matic to an almost unbelievable degree, was occa- 
sionally used in place of lemons by those who appre- 
ciated fine distinctions of flavor. 

For many centuries this most popular of all fruit 
families had been growing, first in India and then 
in other climes to which travelers carried its seeds. 
To Florida the Spanish brought the orange and 
lemon, and there the grapefruit was later to thrive. 
But thirty years ago nearly all of these fruits used 
in this country were imported — oranges and lemons 
from the sunny shores of the Mediterranean and 
limes from the West Indies. Then began a native 
industry which has grown to such proportion that 
today Florida and California not only supply our 
own citrus fruit needs, but grow enough to export 
annually vast quantities. 

Good and Good for Us 

There is a reason for everything that happens, 
and the real reasons for this amazing development 
in the demand for oranges, lemons, grapefruit, limes 
and kumquats — not to forget the fine-flavored tan- 
gerine — is three-fold. 

First of all, these fruits are so full of flavor that 
nearly everyone likes them. Ripening as they do at 
a time of year when winter holds the north temper- 
ate zone in its chilly grasp, they supply a note in the 
daily diet which is doubly welcome because of the 
absence of other fresh fruits. 

The most important reason is less patent to the 
average observer. It is their healthfulness — their 

24 



WHAT THE ORANGE MEANS TO MAN 

marked value as regulators and dependable purvey- 
ors of certain elements needed by the human ma- 
chine to keep it running at maximum efficiency. 

Forty years ago all fruit was looked upon as a 
luxury, only a small amount reaching the town and 
city markets. Naturally the price was high, so con- 
sumption was confined largely to those who could 
afford luxuries. Now a veritable stream of saffron 
and golden goodness moves constantly from Flor- 
ida and California, and forks and reforks until it 
touches even the most remote communities. The 
lemon has become as much a part of summer as 
fresh vegetables — and in a later article I am going 
to deal with its indispensability. 

Oranges and grapefruit abound everywhere. 
Kumquats, limes and tangerines are staple com- 
modities in the large markets and filter through to 
many a little town. After a sleep of centuries, the 
citrus family has waked to bless a world with its 
great virtues. 

Life-Savers for the Sailors 

In numberless instances where great companies 
of human beings have been headed for the grave the 
citrus family has proved a saviour. The best exam- 
ple of this, and the one which first called widespread 
attention to the health virtues of citrus fruits, was 
the so-called Merchants' Ship Act of 1868, a law 
requiring English ships to carry sufficient lemon or 
lime juice to furnish each member of the crew with 
one ounce daily and the term "lime- juicer" is still 

26 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 

used to describe the British sailing vessel. For 
many years the first peril of the seas had been 
scurvy. Yet today, as for half a century, this dis- 
ease is almost unknown to the sailor — thanks to the 
efficacy of lemon and orange juice. 

These citrus fruits, long regarded as mere deli- 
cacies, possess a marvelous power for health. It is 
their province not only to furnish nutriment, but 
also to supply water, introduce various salts and 
organic acids which improve the quality of the blood, 
and above all to react favorably upon the secretions 
as anti-scorbutics, lessening the acidity of the body 
fluids, serving as laxatives and cathartics, stimulat- 
ing appetite, aiding digestion, adding variety to the 
diet, and keeping the liver in tone. 

I can see people rising to remark that it is strange 
to speak of oranges, grapefruit, limes, kumquats 
and tangerines as lesseners of acid — "for see how 
acid they are!" I can even hear certain persons stat- 
ing that they have been denied these very fruits be- 
cause of their acidity. The common misconception 
that the acids of fruits are unwholesome for persons 
suffering from gout or other uric acid disorders is a 
very mischievous error. 

Citrus Fruits Counteract Acidity 

This popular fallacy is due to ignorance of the 
fact that the acid of these fruits undergoes an alka- 
line reaction when taken into the stomach. When 
his attention was called to an article stating that 
grapefruit or orange juice was not advisable for 
breakfast, since the acid might curdle the milk taken 

26 



WHAT THE ORANGE MEANS TO MAN 

with coffee or cereal, an eminent physician recently 
said: "Grapefruit will ultimately reduce the acid 
contents of the stomach, provided the muscle of the 
stomach is normal, and there is no weakness of dila- 
tion. Grapefruit is the most valuable of all the 
fruits for the great majority of people. Its effect 
on the diet is in most cases beneficial." At breakfast, 
dinner, supper or at any time one feels inclined, 
grapefruit can be eaten, as it is easily digested. 
When fully ripened it requires little sugar; the 
brown fruits are therefore more desirable, as too 
much sugar is likely to cause gastric irritation or 
acid stomach. 

Ills that Come from Acids 

It is a fairly general belief among health scientists 
nowadays that most of our physical ills are due to 
an over-accumulation of acids in the tissues. With- 
in the last few years the term "acidosis" has become 
most popular in medical parlance, and it is even 
claimed that the physical fact of death is the final 
triumph of acids in the blood. Hence the import- 
ance of anything which will help neutralize these 
acids. Cumulative experience has proved beyond 
doubt that the citrus fruits are most valuable in 
counteracting such a condition. 

The orange is the most popular of this brood, and 
today it may be ranked as one of our staple foods. 
There are some remarkable facts about this fruit. 
It has a large sugar content, and sugar is one of the 
most active and economical fuel foods that can be 

27 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 

taken into the body. This sugar in the orange is 
prepared for immediate assimilation, however, and 
requires no digestion, as is the case with ordinary 
sugar. In a purified state it could be injected di- 
rectly into the blood stream. 

Oranges as Fruit-Food-Fuel 

It is this that gives the orange an unusually high 
food value for a fruit. Chemical analyses made by 
the United States Government show that a pound 
of orange juice contains 240 calories, or food energy 
units, while a pound of whole milk contains only 
325 calories. Of course, milk is the one perfect food, 
yet the average persons has little idea of the nutri- 
tive worth of orange juice. 

The value of the orange and other citrus fruits in 
the diet is not to be measured by calories, however. 
It is chiefly a matter of certain acids and mineral 
substances which are absolutely necessary to main- 
tenance of health as body regulators. 

The juice of the orange is rich in lime and alka- 
line salts which help to counteract any tendency to 
acidosis — one of the most serious conditions that 
attacks persons of sedentary habits, heavy meat- 
eaters and those advanced in years. Its organic 
acids exercise a highly beneficial effect upon the di- 
gestive process and aid in the passage of undigested 
food through the alimentary canal. It also has a 
stimulating influence on the intestines which excites 
peristaltic activity and thus tends to prevent undue 
accumulation of food residue in the large intestine. 
Indeed, it has been repeatedly proved that one or 

28 



WHAT THE ORANGE MEANS TO MAN 



two oranges taken at bed time and on arising in the 
morning are excellent means of stimulating normal 
bowel action and thus relieving or preventing con- 
stipation. 

Where the Babies Benefit 

The foremost beneficiary of orange juice is the 
bottle-fed baby. Since orange juice supplies the 
anti-scorbutic vitamines in generous measure, the 
addition of a certain amount to the daily diet of a 
baby even a month old will prevent scurvy, rickets, 
or pellagra, which sometimes occur in a bottle-fed 
baby. 

When pasteurized or sterilized milk is used in in- 
fant-feeding, the baby should be started on a tea- 
spoonful of orange juice daily and this amoimt 
gradually increased to a tablespoonful at the age of 
four months. 

Nor is the baby the only one who needs this form 
of food. Consisting as it does chiefly of meat, bread 
and potatoes, the daily diet of the average grown- 
up is apt to be deficient in vitamines. Orange juice 
and grapefruit not only supply these accessory food 
substances, but also, with their acid content, provide 
a counteracting influence against too much protein. 

Their Medicinal Value 

Recent medical research has demonstrated be- 
yond doubt that citrus fruits are more necessary in 
the general scheme of dietetics than was formerly 
supposed. It has shown that the grapefruit or 
orange eaten as a first course at breakfast is a most 

29 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 

valuable body regulator. It has proved that oranges 
and grapefruit are of value in many forms of sick- 
ness, and that there are few persons who cannot 
benefit by their daily use. 

"Citrus fruits may be fed even to persons who 
have delicate stomachs," says the fruit juice expert 
of the United States Department of Agriculture. 
"They introduce into the system salts and organic 
acids which improve the quality of the blood and 
react favorably on the secretions," says the superin- 
tendent of one of the largest hospitals in the coun- 
try, herself a dietitian of international note. "They 
serve as laxatives and to combat conditions arising 
from malnutrition. They are refreshing and stimu- 
late the appetite." 

Orange juice has come to be one of the most high- 
ly welcomed drinks in fever cases. When the blood 
becomes superheated in its effort to burn out invad- 
ing armies of disease germs — that is the cause of 
fever — and when the weakened patient feels little 
desire even for a cooling draft of water, the grateful 
flavor of orange juice serves not only to allay thirst 
but also provides a certain amount of nutriment so 
nearly predigested as to be easily assimilable in its 
original form. Orange juice leaves no residue to 
undergo putrefaction in the colon, as is the case with 
meat, eggs and most other foods. A fever patient 
may drink two or three quarts a day without taking 
an excess of food material which might give rise to 
further trouble. 

Those suffering from malaria are also greatly 

30 



WHAT THE ORANGE MEANS TO MAN 

benefited by making their breakfast of oranges, f our 
or six or as many as can be eaten and by using un- 
sweetened lemonade between meals. 

Pellagra is prevalent among the Chinese, it is be- 
lieved, not only because of their limited diet of dried 
fish and rice but because no lime or lemon juice is 
included in their diet as they dislike this most nec- 
essary food element. 

Undoubtedly we have at last discovered the real 
province of citrus fruits, for in them we have not 
only palate pleasure of the most desirable sort, but 
also health-builders and body tonics which would 
recommend them even if their own fine flavor were 
not present. 

What we must now work out is some way to pre- 
serve these valuable juices in bottled or dried form, 
so that the waste in the regions where these fruits 
are grown may be done away with, and their valu- 
able acids conserved for all mankind — so that they 
become more and more a staple food available to the 
poorest and to the remotest sections of the earth. 

Our present duty is to make larger use of these 
tonic-regulators in our daily diet; to give nature a 
better chance to help us to health through such 
pleasant methods of "medication." It is scarcely 
possible to eat too much fruit and the old adage that 
it is golden for breakfast, silver at noon and leaden 
at night should be thrown into the discard. Fruit is 
always golden. It is very easy to digest, and may 
be taken almost at any time without injury. Even 
a fruit supper may be indulged in before retiring 

31 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 

and in most cases it is the means of secm'ing a 
prompt evacuation of the bowels upon arising. 

We have learned, within the last few years, that 
the most vital of all problems is the maintenance of 
health in the human race. "Health through right 
food" is the great new experiment and where it can 
be carried on in such a palate-pleasing manner as 
through the use of the citrus fruits it should be 
tested to the full. 

There is no higher mission in life than the proper 
feeding of our families. The woman trained in the 
proper selection and preparation of food has be- 
come one of the great blessings of humanity, taking 
a place beside the physician and the priest and not 
inferior to either in her mission. 

"I know how healthful oranges are," writes a 
housewife to the Journajl^s Food Service, "but we 
don't have them very often on our table because I 
know of no new and dainty ways to serve them as 
part of a meal." 

The following recipes, prepared to accompany 
Mr. Goudiss' important article, will help this house- 
wife and thousands of others to make a wider use of 
oranges and their citrus relatives by serving them in 
novel and appetizing dishes that may form an inte- 
gral part of luncheon or dinner. 



32 



NOVEL WAYS OF SERVING 
NATURE'S GOLDEN FRUIT 

Orange Filling 

Cream together one tablespoonful of butter and three tablespoon- 
fuls of powdered sugar. Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour, one-third 
cupful of sugar and one egg yolk together until smooth. Add one- 
quarter cupful of orange juice, one teaspoonful of lemon juice and one 
teaspoonful of grated orange rind. Cook over hot water, stirring con- 
stantly until the mixture thickens. Add the butter mixture and cool 
before spreading. 

Grajjefruit Marmalade 

Wash the fruit and remove the peel in uniform sections. Cut the 
peel into shreds, cover with cold water and boil for ten minutes. Drain 
and repeat the process twice, to remove the bitter flavor. Weigh the 
pulp and for each pound allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar and 
one quart of water. Boil the pulp and water for thirty minutes, and 
press through a coarse jelly-bag. Put the juice and sugar into a kettle, 
add the shredded peel and boil rapidly until the mixture jellies from 
the spoon. Pour at once into sterilized glasses, and when firm cover 
with melted paraffin. 

Rice Mold with Oranges 

Wash one cupful of rice in several waters, then cook in two cupfuls 
of boiling salted water until the water is absorbed. Add two and one- 
half cupfuls of milk and one-half cupful of sugar and continue cooking 
in a double boiler until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed. Turn 
into a greased mold to set. Unmold and surround with sliced oranges. 
Serve hot or cold as a cereal or dessert. 

Orange Icing 

Mix the grated rind of one orange with one teaspoonful of lemon 
juice, one tablespoonful of orange juice, and one egg yolk. Beat in 
confectioner's sugar until the mixture is stiflp enough to spread. It 
will take about one and one-half cupfuls of sugar. 

Orange and Nut Pie 

Cream two tablespoonfuls of butter with one cupful of sugar and 
one-half cupful of hot boiled rice pressed through a sieve. When well 
blended add one cupful of boiling water and cook slowly until thickened, 
stirring constantly. Mix grated rind and juice of one large orange, one 
tablespoonful of lemon juice and two egg yolks. Add this to the hot 
mixture and cook for two or three minutes. Remove from the fire and 
cool slightly. Pour into a baked pie shell, sprinkle with one cupful of 
orange pulp and one-half cupful of finely chopped nutmeats. Cover 
with a meringue made from the two egg whites beaten with four table- 
spoonfuls of sugar. Brown in a slow oven. 

33 



CITRUS FRUITS AS HEALTH BUILDERS 
Orange Sticks 

Cream one-quarter cupful of butter, add three-quarters cupful of 
sugar and beat until smooth. Then add two egg yolks, one-quarter 
cupful of orange juice and the grated rind of one-half an orange. Mix 
and sift three-quarters cupful of flour, one-quarter cupful of corn- 
starch and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Add to the first mix- 
ture, and when well mixed fold in the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. 
Grease a shallow pan, sprinkle with powdered sugar and one cupful of 
finely chopped walnut meats. Pour in the cake batter and bake in a 
moderate oven about twenty-five minutes. Remove from the pan, cut 
in half crosswise and put together with orange filling. Cover with 
orange icing and cut in narrow strips for serving. 

Orange Whip 

Soak two tablespoonfuls of gelatine in one-half cupful of cold water 
for five minutes. Add one cupful of boiling water and one-half cupful 
of sugar, and stir until the sugar and gelatine are dissolved. Add one 
and three-fourths cupfuls of orange juice and one-quarter cupful of 
lemon juice. Strain the mixture and cool until beginning to thicken. 
Beat until foamy, fold in stiffly beaten whites of two eggs and heap 
lightly in orange shells in sherbet glasses or in a wet mold. Garnish 
with a piece of orange pulp. 

Kumquat Salad 

Wash twelve kumquats and cut in thin slices crosswise. Mix with 
one cupful of white grapes cut in half and seeded and one orange di- 
vided into sections and cut in pieces. Mix four tablespoonfuls of salad 
oil, one-quarter teaspoonful of salt, one-quarter teaspoonful of pap- 
rika with two tablespoonfuls of lemon or grapefruit juice. Arrange 
the fruit on lettuce leaves, pour over the dressing and serve very cold. 

Orange Custard 

Peel and slice four large oranges. Place in a serving dish and 
sprinkle lightly with sugar. Scald three cupfuls of milk. Mix two egg 
yolks with one-third cupful of sugar and four tablespoonfuls of corn- 
starch. Add the hot milk gradually, beating constantly. Cook over hot 
water, stirring until the mixture thickens. Cook for ten minutes, re- 
move from the fire, cool slightly and pour over the oranges. Beat the 
whites of two eggs until stiff, add four tablespoons fuls of powdered 
sugar and continue beating until smooth. Spread over the custard and 
brown in a slow oven. Chill before serving. 

Grapefruit Cocktail 

Peel and separate three grapefruit into sections. Remove tough 
white skin and cut the pulp in pieces. Chill thoroughly. Arrange the 
pulp in six sherbet or cocktail glasses, pour one tablespoonful of orange 
juice over each and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. 

34 



WHAT THE ORANGE MEANS TO MAN 
Grapefruit Gelatine 

Soak two tablespoonfuls of gelatine in one-quarter cupful of cold 
water for five minutes. Add one-half cupful of boiling water and one- 
half cupful of sugar. Stir over hot water until the gelatine is dissolved, 
then add one and one-quarter cupfuls of grapefruit juice, two table- 
spoonfuls of orange juice. Strain into a wet mold and chill. Serve in 
halves of grapefruit skins or in sherbet cups or cut in cubes and use as 
a border for cold mutton or veal. 

Tangerine Dessert 

Peel six tangerines, remove all the white membrane and pits and 
cut the fruit in pieces. Peel and slice two large oranges. Cut one- 
quarter pound of marshmallows in pieces. Mix all together with two 
tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and sprinkle with grated cocoanut. 
Serve very cold. 

Marmalade Scones 

The ingredients required are four cupfuls of flour, five tablespoon- 
fuls of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of salt, 
five teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one egg, beaten, sweet milk and 
marmalade. Cut and rub butter finely into flour, add sugar, salt and 
baking powder. Beat egg, put one-half of it in a cup, then with other 
half and some sweet milk make the other ingredients into a soft dough. 
Knead very little on a floured baking board, divide into five pieces, 
make them smooth and roll out, not too thin, and cut them into four 
small scones. Lay them on a greased baking tin, brush over with the 
remaining egg and bake in a hot oven for ten minutes. Split open, and, 
while still hot, spread with marmalade. Press the two parts of the 
scone together and serve hot. 



35 



C)OCOX)00000000000(XXDOOOOOOOOOOCK3C>OOOC100CXXXDOOOOOOOOC)OOOOOOOCKXXX3(>^^ 

Why We Should Eat More Lamb 

A PLEA FOR THE CHEAPER CUTS 
OF THE BEST OF MEATS 



J[he. 



,HERE are a good many things we Americans 
should do in order to make the most of ourselves 
and our resources, and since food is a fundamental, 
it is inevitable that some of these duties should fall 
in that field. 

We are a meat-eating people. We never have had 
to deny ourselves in this, because vast sweeps of 
grazing land have given us a broad and firm foun- 
dation for meat production. But in the free exercise 
of this appetite we have made one mistake. Largely 
because of a foolish prejudice, based on ignorance, 
we have neglected lamb. If you happen to live in 
that part of the nation east of Pittsburgh and north 
of Washington, you may wonder at such a state- 
ment. But when told that 75 per cent, of all the lamb 
slaughtered in this land is consumed in this particu- 
lar corner of the country — although 80 per cent, of it 
is raised west of the Mississippi — you will under- 
stand. 

In other words, lamb is largely a homeless meat 
outside of the section named — and chiefly because a 
good many millions of people have heard it has a 
"woolly" flavor! 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

Now, an antique sheep which, after several seasons 
of wool-bearing, finds its way to some meat market 
may have a flavor reminiscent of mittens or muf- 
flers — if carelessly cooked — but such sheep never 
should and seldom do get into food channels. Years 
ago, when conditions were altogether different, they 
were the kind commonly killed for eating. Hence 
the present inheritance of ignorance which still 
stands as a barrier to one of the most delicate, deli- 
cious and nutritious of all meats. 

Simply on the basis of goodness this amounts to a 
deprivation of distressing proportions. Epicures 
know that the flavor of lamb, whether in chop, roast 
or stew, is not only tempting, but satisfying. And 
few things gastronomic can rank higher in memory 
than an English mutton chop, browned to a Rem- 
brandt tone and served with a baked potato which 
looks for all the world like a huge cotton boll just 
bursting. 

I am dwelling on this matter of flavor because — 
well, because flavor is the heart and soul of any food. 
It is the first and foremost reason for our liking of 
meat. And here is a meat quite incomparable in sev- 
eral ways, which is the victim of a veritable conspir- 
acy of ignorance based on what someone has told 
someone else, and so on until a vicious circle of false 
notions is formed, shutting out multitudes from the 
benefits of the most healthful and attractive of 
meats, as well as one of the most palatable. 

Yet the average American west of Pittsburgh and 
south of Washington eats beef twenty times to lamb 

37 



WHY WE SHOULD EAT MORE LAMB 

once — ^not only depriving himself of a model meat, 
but, by his action, hindering the natural growth of 
a great industry which provides not only the best of 
food, but of raiment also. 

Our country this year will raise about 300,000,000 
pounds of wool, whereas its needs in this line will be 
nearly 800,000,000 pounds. We shall have to call on 
other countries for the difference, just as we were 
forced to do during the war, when our position in 
this regard would have been critical but for access to 
the friendly markets of British colonies and South 
America. 

The Most Wholesome Meat 

Why is lamb "incomparable" in some ways? 

The first answer to this question lies in its supe- 
rior wholesomeness. Sheep are notably free from 
diseases which affect large numbers of cattle and 
hogs. 

You know, of course, that government inspectors 
pass upon all meat before it is offered for sale in 
the market. This is done to protect the health of 
the people — and particularly because both cattle 
and hogs are subject to tuberculosis. Probably you 
are not aware of the extent to which this disease 
exists. 

Of 27,000,000 hog carcasses inspected by agents 
of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry 
in a recent year, 31,500 were condemned because of 
tuberculosis and 870,000 partly condemned. 

Of 10,000,000 cattle inspected the same year, 

38 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

27,000 were wholly and 49,000 partly condemned. 
Of 13,000,000 sheep likewise inspected during the 
same period, woiow^ was wholly or partly condemned. 

This remarkable freedom from disease among 
lambs is due, in all probability, to the fact that 
sheep eat what nature provides for them and in the 
way nature intends they should eat it. Man has 
worked out diets and menus for cattle and hogs, 
and his skill has wrought miracles of weight and 
appearance, but this civilizing of foods and dietaries 
brought with it the penalties of disease. 

As a result, the sheep carcass which hangs in the 
butcher's stall represents the cleanest and most 
healthful meat within man's power to command. It 
is nature's own brand of pure food. 

Even if lamb and mutton did have a flavor one 
had to get used to, it would be worth while getting 
used to it, under such circumstances. But, as I al- 
ready have said and wish to repeat, there is no dan- 
ger of even a tinge of "wool" flavor attending the 
dish if the animal is properly slaughtered and the 
"fell" (the thin, papery membrane that covers the 
carcass) is removed before cooking. 

From the economic standpoint lamb also is in- 
comparable. Mutton and lamb sell at lower prices 
than other meats, for the excellent reason that na- 
ture provides free food for sheep and thus assists in 
making their meat freer for man. Price in itself 
should not be required as an inducement, for the 
goodness and nutritive worth of these meats are in 
themselves sufficient reason for widespread use. But 

39 



WHY WE SHOULD EAT MORE LAMB 

the inducement exists — as if nature had determined 
to hasten the day when lamb will come into its own 
on Uncle Sam's big table! 

If you have confined your lamb purchases to rib 
or loin chops, you may not be able to appreciate this. 
Such cuts are higher in price than any other in the 
carcass, because they represent the choicest parts. 
And because the average American isn't always 
wise in his quest for the "very best," he has formed 
a habit of demanding these to the exclusion of other 
cuts which are equally delicious and far cheaper. 

It is human to want what is hardest to get. That's 
why the eight or nine pounds of chops in a 40-pound 
lamb carcass come so high. Everybody is anxious 
to get them because nearly everybody is ignorant of 
the fact that other parts are just as good and far 
more economical. 

Of course, nothing is nicer to look at than a full 
"eyed" rib chop, daintily "frenched" and emitting a 
fragrance that would tempt old Lucullus to rise 
from his grave and smack his lips. But this is a deli- 
cacy, fraught with such waste, and it is as unfair to 
use it for basing the economic value of lamb as it 
would be to figure the value of fowl in general by the 
market price of golden pheasant. 

To a certain extent the cheaper cuts of beef have 
been banefully neglected for many years. But this 
is not a circumstance when compared to the way in 
which the cheaper cuts of lamb and mutton have 
been ignored. As a matter of actual fact, public 
indifference to such cuts has made it almost impos- 

40 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

sible for butchers to handle lamb and mutton car- 
casses without loss, in many parts of the land. 

Yet whoever has sat down to a feast of roast 
stuffed shoulder of lamb — O, savory dish ! — or par- 
taken of neck of lamb en casserole, knows better than 
words can tell how "more-ish" are these meat de- 
lights. All such persons must join in pitying the 
misguided American housewife who, according to 
government statistics, buys annually for each mem- 
ber of her family an average of 71 pounds of pork, 
67 pounds of beef and jive pounds of lamb! — a meat 
of rare virtue in every particular. 

Even if the man or woman at the dinner table 
doesn't care to remember that lamb contains a 
smaller amount of "purins" — substances which have 
a tendency to produce rheumatism and gout in the 
consimier — than any other meat, the fact that such 
palatable portions can be had for such reasonable 
expenditure should speedily work a change in this 
curious situation, and raise the average per capita 
consumption of lamb and mutton to a figure more 
in keeping with their flavor, healthfulness and re- 
markable nutritive content. 
Lamb's Food Value 

It is natural, of course, to think of beef as the most 
nutritious meat we have. That is a mental habit. 
Because of it, the man who orders a slice of roast 
beef feels he has provided for himself the maximum 
of food-fuel. But he is fooling himself. In caloric 
(energy-producing) value, the loin of beef from 
which his order is cut is only two-thirds as nutritive 

41 



WHY WE SHOULD EAT MORE LAMB 

as loin of mutton. Uncle Sam has figured this out 
to a pin-point of accuracy, and pound for pound he 
assures us that the fuel value in calories of beef loin 
is only 1020, compared to 1575 for mutton loin. 

This is true of every other part of lamb or mutton 
as compared with beef. Even the neck of mutton 
has a higher food value than loin of beef. And mut- 
ton flank is twice as nutritious as beef hindquarter. 

So, while we've been depriving ourselves of the 
goodness and economy of lamb and mutton, we've 
been denying om'selves also a source of nourishment 
far more productive of strength and energy than 
our beloved beef — and more easily digested in the 
average stomach! 

Because of its digestibility, lamb broth is one of 
the universal foods for sick folk and invalids who 
cannot assimilate other meats. Many a person re- 
cuperating from an illness is permitted to eat a 
small chop while beefsteak is still a remote possi- 
bility! 

"What fools these mortals be !" said Puck through 
Will Shakespeare three hundred years ago. He 
might be even more emphatic today if he were here 
to know that 25,000,000 Americans are eating 75 per 
cent of our lamb and mutton production, while the 
remaining 75,000,000 consume only 25 per cent ! 

It is largely a matter of education to make this 
three-fourths of our population appreciate their 
mistake in letting the other one-fourth eat three- 
fourths of the lamb. But not altogether that. 

There is a bigger and more important phase to 

42 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

this matter. The first need of any people is food. 
When food was abundant enough to be plucked 
from bushes, shaken from trees or felled with a stone 
or a club by the wayside, no one thought much about 
it — although, even then, it was the prime considera- 
tion of life. 

When men and women began to congregate in 
groups ; when communities took the place of strag- 
gling families ; when cities came as a sort of glorifi- 
cation of the community trend — then food became 
a problem. And with the growth and multiplication 
of great urban centers of population, this problem 
has developed marvelous complexity. For a few 
hundred thousand colonists to keep themselves fed 
and clothed was a fairly simple proposition. For 
100,000,000 people to achieve adequate nourishment 
and sufficient raiment is quite another thing. 
Flocks Should Be Increased 

Heee it is that the lamb steps in as a prize solver 
of perplexities, though as yet the average American 
has not recognized the useful creature as such. "My 
coat is your coat, your warm undergarment, your 
blanket to defend you against chill at night, your 
constant protection against the vagaries of weather," 
says the lamb. 

"I supply the soft warmth which keeps your ba- 
bies in health at a time when life hangs by a slender 
thread. I give you armor to ward off cold and wet, 
when, as strong men, you go pioneering into crude, 
strange lands. I enfold age in comforting garments 
which hold death at bay." 

43 



WHY WE SHOULD EAT MORE LAMB 

This bit of fancy is not merely figurative. It rep- 
resents a wonderful fact which we Americans are 
ignoring. The succulent herbage on which sheep 
thrive is strewn bountifully over millions of acres 
from sea to sea. Where one flock now grazes a hun- 
dred might easily be fed and all without much addi- 
tional cost or care — for sheep find their own food. 

This manifolding of flocks would come quickly if 
all America were to wake up to the goodness of the 
meat that thus could be provided. Supply is deter- 
mined by demand. Let our people turn as they 
should to lamb and mutton, and lo, our wool problem 
would be largely solved ! We would become a self- 
clothing as well as a self-feeding nation. And that 
would have more than a material meaning to our 
present and our future. 

If such a goal were attainable only through some 
measure of sacrifice, still it would be worth the effort 
and the self-denial. But this is not the case. 

Go into any one of the famous hotels or restau- 
rants in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and ask 
which meat is most sought. 

"Lamb" is the invariable answer. 

In these places no one ever thinks of what a thing 
costs. "How good?" is the common criterion. And 
on this basis alone the preference for lamb and mut- 
ton has grown to its present proportions. 

So it is not in any sense a matter of sacrifice. It 
simply is a matter of selecting and using a meat 
which epicures and connoisseurs regard as superior 
in texture and fiavor. 

44 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

Why shouldn't the American housewife, whose 
patriotism always is willing to do its duty, come to 
the fore and see that Uncle Sam does eat more lamb? 
Why doesn't she look into this matter? Even though 
she may have inherited some foolish doubts, wouldn't 
it be a good plan for her to give lamb and mutton a 
fair trial? 

Those of us who have tried it have sometimes been 
a bit discouraged at the prices asked. This is due to 
the fact that most of them have sought only the ribs, 
loin and leg — the costliest cuts. 

Get acquainted with the neck, shoulder, shank and 
breast of lamb, Mrs. America! Test on these cuts 
your skill as a cook. Keep an eye on the faces at 
your table as the meat portion is tasted. Then for- 
mulate your plans for the future. 

You will be furnishing better food for your family 
and your friends. You will be saving money on your 
meat bill. But above all, you will be encouraging a 
vital industry which, in the long run, will play a 
large part in the development and welfare and lead- 
ership of the land you love. 

It is a part worth playing, from every standpoint. 



45 



RECIPES FOR CHEAP CUTS 

Boned Shoulder, Stuffed 

Have the butcher remove the bone from a shoulder of lamb. Pre- 
pare a stuflBng from the following recipe and fill the cavity with it. Tie 
firmly into shape and place in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and 
pepper, dredge with flour and pour one-half cupful of boiling water in 
the pan. Cook in a hot oven until the flour begins to brown, then re- 
duce the heat to a moderate temperature and continue cooking twenty 
minutes for each pound. Baste every twenty minutes with the fat in 
the pan. Peel the required number of onions and potatoes and parboil 
each for ten minutes. Drain and place in the pan around the meat 
about forty minutes before the meat is done. Remove the meat to a 
hot platter, surround with the browned onions and potatoes and serve 
with gravy made from the liquid in the pan. 

The stuffing for shoulder of lamb requires two cupfuls of bread 
crumbs, one teaspoonful of salt, one small onion chopped fine, one 
tablespoonful of chopped parsley, three tablespoonfuls of melted fat 
and one egg. Mix all ingredients together with just enough hot water 
to moisten. 

Braised Shoulder of Lamb 

Order the shoulder boned and stuff it as in the preceding recipe. 
Melt one-third cupful of drippings, add one-fourth cupful of chopped 
onion, one-half cupful of diced carrots, and one-half cupful of diced 
turnips. Cook for five minutes and add one-fourth bay leaf, a sprig of 
parsley, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of salt and two cupfuls of hot 
water. Place the mutton in a deep roasting pan, pour over it this mix- 
ture, cover and cook slowly for two hours. Remove the meat to a hot 
platter and thicken liquid in the pan with flour to make a gravy. 

Fncassee of Lamb 

Cut into pieces for serving three pounds of neck or breast, sprinkle 
with salt and pepper and roll in flour. Brown in melted drippings. 
Add two sliced onions, one-half cupful of diced carrots and one-half 
cupful of diced celery. Pour over enough water to cover the meat, 
cover closely and simmer until the meat is tender — about one hour and 
thirty minutes. Boil one cupful of rice until tender, drain and arrange 
around the edge of a hot platter. Place the meat in the center. 
Thicken the gravy with flour, season with salt and pepper and pour 
over the meat. 

Scotch Broth 

Ingredients: Three pounds of lamb from neck or shoulder, three 
pints of cold water, one-half cupful of pearl barley, one-half cupful of 
diced carrots, one-half cupful of diced celery, one-half cupful of diced 
turnips, one-fourth cupful of sliced onion, salt and pepper to season, 

46 



THE CHEAPER CUTS OF THE BEST MEAT 

two tablespoonfuls of butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour and one table- 
spoonful of parsley. Soak barley overnight in cold water. Cut meat 
from bones, and put in a kettle with the cold water and barley. Heat 
quickly to the boiling point, skim and sinuner one hour. Put the bones 
in another kettle, cover with cold water, heat to the boiling point and 
simmer one hour. Strain and add to the meat mixture with the vege- 
tables and salt and pepper to season. Cook slowly until the vegetables 
are tender. Thicken with butter and flour rubbed together and sprinkle 
with parsley just before serving. 

Breaded Cutlets 

Ingredients: Two pounds of leg chops or cutlets, cut one-half inch 
thick, one egg, one tablespoonful of cold water, bread crumbs and two 
cupfuls of tomato or thin brown sauce. Wipe cutlets with a damp cloth, 
sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in flour, beaten egg and then in 
crumbs. Melt four tablespoonfuls of drippings in a hot frying pan, 
put in the cutlets and cook until brown on both sides. Drain off the fat, 
add sauce, cover closely and simmer thirty minutes. Serve very hot. 

Shoulder Chops en Casserole 

Wipe two pounds of shoulder chops and brown quickly in a hot fry- 
ing pan. Brush with hot fat, season with salt and pepper and place in 
casserole. Parboil for fifteen minutes one cupful of diced carrots and 
drain. Put them in casserole with one cupful of peas, one cupful of 
potato balls and two cupfuls of thin brown sauce. Cover and cook 
slowly for thirty minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add twelve 
small white onions cooked until soft and drained. Serve from casserole, 
seasoned to taste. 



47 



000C>0000CO00000000000000000C)0000000000CX30C>0CKXXX)00<^^ 



Reasons for Raisins 



JLROi 



WHY THIS DELICIOUS DRIED FRUIT 
SHOULD BE A DAILY PART OF THE 
DIET IN EVERY HOME 



ROM a palate point of view, the prime reason 
for raisins is their rich, pleasing flavor. In this no 
other dried fruit approaches them. They rank high 
among those good things we just can't stop eating, 
having once started. 

I know busy men who carry raisins in their coat 
pockets and nibble at them like a child with a sack 
of candy in school. I know homes in which the raisin 
jar, placed where all may have a chance at it, is an 
institution like the cooky crock or the nut bowl. 
And I know something else which you and everyone 
should know. 

I know that every neglected opportunity to eat 
raisins is conclusive evidence of a lack of "food 
sense" — knowledge of the importance of food to 
health. 

For the raisin, tempting and delicious as it is, 
cannot be classed merely as a dainty, a confection, 
an occasional sweet. In the average home that is 
our present attitude, however. Nuts and raisins or- 
nament the holiday table and are passed in a per- 
functory way at the close of a monster meal. A host 
who had beefsteak handed around as a finale to the 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



feast would be regarded as the unfortunate victim 
of incipient insanity! Yet in food value alone the 
raisins served as a delicacy to top off the meal are 
twice as rich as steak. 

No sweet is tastier, I'll admit. But here's a sweet 
that's also a meat — meat and medicine, too. And 
when the American people come to a full apprecia- 
tion of the raisin, om* average annual per capita 
consumption of one pound and a third of raisins will 
surely leap upward and approach the figure in Eng- 
land, where people eat an average of five pounds. 

The sweet that's meat and medicine ! 

These words paint a good picture of the raisin — 
the reddish-brown, sugary, dried grape which comes 
chiefly from the world's real "gold coast" of Cali- 
fornia, to supply us with solidified sunshine in a rare 
form. For while the sun ripens the material for 
raisins just as it ripens every other fruit, in this 
case the celestial source of heat, light and energj^ 
also serves as a master of the curing process. 

After the luscious raisin grapes, which California 
produces at the rate of more than a quarter billion 
pounds a year, have been cut from the vines, they 
are placed on trays and left for a certain time to dry 
in the sun. Then they are stacked to cure more 
slowly, and when "done to a turn," are taken to the 
packing houses and sorted according to varieties 
and grades. So from start to finish the raisin is sole- 
ly a natural product, with nothing added and noth- 
ing taken away. Man simply lets the sun do the 
work and attractively packs the result. 

49 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



In this wonderful process of raisin-making, Old 
Sol manages to incorporate in the finished product 
more iron than he puts in any other fruit, fresh or 
dried, and more than is found in most of our com- 
mon foodstuffs. If the reader thinks this a rela- 
tively unimportant point, let the next few para- 
graphs be read with extra care. 

Of all the minerals our bodies must have — and 
certain minerals, as you know, are vital to physical 
existence — iron is the most important. Iron defi- 
ciency, as a disease, baffles the medical profession, 
and the only method of attack thus far developed is 
treatment with inorganic iron. That is why our best 
tonics nearly always contain this ingredient. Even 
so, they are as a rule far from satisfactory. 

The body of an average healthy person contains 
less than one-tenth of an ounce of iron, yet this in- 
finitesimal amount is so necessary to the mainten- 
ance of life that even a slight deficiency soon shows 
in pale cheeks, flabby muscles and general lack of 
"tone." In the language of science, "metabolism" 
is disturbed. 

Metabolism is that mysterious process by which 
food materials which are not alive are transformed 
into the cell-structure of living tissues and made a 
part of the conscious, thinking creature called man. 
Of all wonders, this easily is the greatest. For it is 
the turning of inert matter into pulsing, breathing 
personality which sees, feels and dares, and through 
love and labor constantly is adding to the sum total 
of human achievement. 

50 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



"Iron stands in the closest possible relation to the 
fundamental processes of metabolism," says Dr. 
H. C. Sherman of Colmnbia University, in a study 
of this subject prepared for and published by the 
United States Government. "It is an essential con- 
stituent both of the oxygen-carrying constituents of 
the blood and of the substances which appear to con- 
trol the most important activities within the cells. 
It is therefore of the highest importance that the 
food shall supply sufficient amounts of iron in forms 
which are readily assimilated." 

It is iron that makes red blood and lack of iron 
that pales the cheeks and takes the pep out of life. 
Neither vegetable nor animal life could exist with- 
out it. 

Most of the iron in our bodies is in the blood. 
There is no reserve stock of it, as of lime. So the 
amount needed for normal health must be supplied 
daily in the food we eat. And while nearly every 
food contains a little of this invaluable mineral, cer- 
tain ones supply it in extra generous measure. More 
than this, if we try to get the iron we need in any 
other way than through the food, we fail. Nature 
apparently has decreed that man must eat his way 
to iron-sufficiency, and nature offers the raisin as 
one of the chief food channels for this supply. 

In some European health centers, the so-called 
"grape cure" is popular, especially in cases of iron 
deficiency and obesity. The patient under treatment 
eats only ripe grapes — first cousins to raisins — and 
starting with a small amount, dailj'^ increases the 

51 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



portion until seven or eight pounds are eaten every 
twenty-foiu- hours. The success of this treatment 
has been marked. 

When you look at a tempting cluster of raisins, 
peeping from between the lace edgings of a flat box 
or nesting in a bowl of nuts you are not moved to 
think of iron. Your thoughts are lost in a day-dream 
of the delicious sweet. Yet each raisin you eat pro- 
vides a larger percentage of this mineral without 
which the body soon would droop and die than you 
can get from such standard foods as bread, butter, 
milk, potatoes and rice. 

No other fruit, fresh or dried, approaches the 
raisin in this valuable contribution to physical exist- 
ence. Of course, an "iron constitution" depends on 
more than the amount of iron in the diet. Yet it 
cannot be secured without a sufficiency of this min- 
eral. So, why have we neglected this admirable 
source of iron supply — and in a form so easily assim- 
ilated? 

It is largely a matter of custom and habit. We've 
inherited a dependence on meat, bread and potatoes. 
We have exercised this inheritance to such an extent 
that in many homes it is seldom varied to any great 
degree. 

A food like the raisin appeals to many persons 
only as an occasional side dish, a delicacy to be nib- 
bled, a sort of table dressing for festal occasions. If 
we were as wise as we ought to be, raisin bread 
would be served at every table every day ; cakes and 

52 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



cookies would be filled with raisins and people would 
buy them as they now buy candy and gum. 

Indeed, if human beings used raisin bread as the 
staff of life and got the raisin habit in some such 
degree as they now use candy and gum, the result 
would be not only an increase of valuable food in- 
take but such a decrease in our national curse of 
constipation as to be little short of astonishing, for 
besides its value as mineral and fuel food the skin 
of the raisin provides bulk which serves as an effec- 
tive laxative. 

And the pale faces which keep folk busy taking 
tonics and treating their cheeks to a daily course 
in cosmetics would soon be replaced by ruddy com- 
plexions, indicative of that wealth of health which 
lies ever near at hand in right food. 

Have j^ou ever suffered from anemia? Ever felt 
as if all the pep had gone out of your body and all the 
purpose out of your mind — limp and as near lifeless 
as a breathing being can be? 

Has the doctor ever pricked a bubble of blood 
from the lobe of your ear, compared its color with 
varying shades of red on a little card, then said you 
needed iron? If so, have you faithfully taken some 
iron tonic and patiently awaited results which did 
not arrive according to expectations? 

If you had only been a regular eater of raisins, 
you might have avoided the doctor, the distress and 
the drain of dollars attendant upon your unpleasant 
little journey into that state of mental and physical 
depletion which accompanies impoverished blood. 

53 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



Of course, it would have been more pleasant to 
eat raisins than to take medicine — to have used a 
natural tonic than a chemical one. And far more 
sensible and effective, for raisins in addition to their 
iron content, are notable providers of heat and 
energy. 

Do not, however, take this natural tonic in large 
dosage, all at once, and expect a miracle! For you 
might pay the penalty exacted of the writer's sten- 
ographer who, after having taken dictation on this 
article — and being a sufferer from anemia — imme- 
diately bought a pound of raisins and ate them at 
one sitting ! Of course, the concentrated food value 
and high sugar content brought on a bilious attack. 

Health doesn't come in chunks, but through sane, 
careful use of what we eat. And raisins are so 
highly nutritive that they cannot be eaten like pop- 
corn. The food value of a pound of them is more 
than twice that of a pound of lean round steak, 
and to get the same amount of available energy you 
would have to eat eight or nine pounds of peaches 
and four pounds of bananas. Bicycle riders engaged 
in long-distance races, which make it impossible to 
stop regularly for meals, carry raisins in their pock- 
ets and depend upon them for nourishment. 

So it is no mere figure of speech to refer to the 
raisin as meat and medicine. Nor is it a statement 
to be lightly regarded that in the iron she puts into 
the blood circulation of the human family through 
her raisins, California does more for mankind than 

54 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



could be bought with all the gold she has put into 
coin circulation. 

It would be one of the best things that could hap- 
pen for this country if we would increase our raisin 
consumption fifty-fold and eat a pound a week in- 
stead of little more than a pound a year. As a people 
we partake more freely of denatured or partly de- 
natured foods than any other, and we discard the 
mineral-bearing parts in most cases. As a people we 
live more luxuriously than any other. And under 
the dangerous dominion of these two obstacles to 
sturdy physical development, we breed an excess of 
dyspepsia and anemia which costs us more in cash 
and comfort than any one of us would believe, could 
the figures be shown. 

Of course, we should make it a point to eat more 
freely and regularly of all foods which contain a 
comparative abundance of iron. The principal ones 
are egg yolk, lean beef, cereals, lettuce, cabbage, 
spinach, asparagus, celery, beans, peas, grapes and 
raisins. 

When we come to the last-named, we find that 
they contain a much larger iron content than milk — 
and milk is the "perfect food." We also have 
learned, from the experience of arctic explorers, that 
the rigors of the far northern winter can be faced 
with confidence so long as the iron supply in the 
body is maintained at normal, but as soon as anemia 
sets in, the game is up. 

That is why raisins always hold a high place in the 
food supplies taken on such expeditions — why 

55 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



raisins were among the foods first at the North Pole ! 

They should be given a similar place in our daily 
diet — but many of us are blind to the importance of 
such matters. We think we can go along eating as 
we please, regardless of what Nature provides or 
suggests. 

We have an idea there's a doctor or a bottle to 
cure the consequences of such blindness. There are 
bottles and doctors in plenty. There are "tonics" 
without end which are alleged to have power to 
renew lost strength. There are cute little boxes of 
color which fool no one, however skilfully applied 
to the cheeks. And there are foods, plenty of them, 
which contain the perfect tonic and cosmetic mate- 
rial, iron — a dependable health and beauty doctor. 
But it must be taken in this way to be effective. 

Here it is that the raisin rises to proclaim its wil- 
lingness to help. 

It is not an over-statement to say the raisin points 
a way to safety in this all-important matter of 
health and physical efficiency. Yet we have steadily 
declined to follow this guidance, despite the fact 
that our own country produces the finest raisins that 
are grown and in the largest quantity. 

If we exercised in food matters the kind of com- 
mon sense that has put us at the head of the world- 
procession of progress in many other ways, there 
would be a bowl of raisins on every dining table 
three times a day. We would demand more raisins 
in our candies, and use more of them in our des- 
serts. We would not be content until we had made 

56 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



the fullest possible use of this ideal form of food. 

For here is a natural tonic-upbuilder, a proved 
soui'ce of strength and vigor, which comes to us as a 
delicious food and requires no special preparation. 
Here is a cosmetic in the form of a confection. If 
we read of such a thing in a fairy-tale, we'd gasp 
and wish it might come true. 

It does come true — every time you eat more 
raisins ! 



57 



RECIPES FOR RAISINS 

Queens Pudding 

stir one quart of scalded milk into two cupfuls of stale bread 
crumbs and let stand until crumbs are soft. Add two-thirds of a cup- 
ful of sugar, one-third of a cupful of melted butter, yolks of three eggs, 
beaten, juice and grated rind of one lemon, one tablespoonful of 
chopped citron, one cupful of raisins and one-half teaspoonful of salt. 
Mix and pour into well greased baking dish. Bake in moderate oven 
until firm and brown — about forty minutes. Cool slightly and turn out 
on a serving dish. Spread with a layer of any desired jam or marma- 
lade. Beat the whites of three eggs until stiff, add four tablespoonfuls 
of sugar and continue beating for a few minutes. Spread the meringue 
over the pudding and bake in a slow oven until the meringue is brown. 

Raisin Bread 

When bread sponge is light add one cupful of seedless raisins, then 
three to four cupfuls of flour, enough to make a soft dough. Finish 
same as bread. To make the sponge: Mix together one tablespoonful 
of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, one tablespoonful of salt, one 
yeast cake dissolved in one cupful of lukewarm water, and two and one- 
half cupfuls of flour. Beat until smooth and let rise until light. 

Scones 

Make sponge as above. When sponge is light add one beaten egg, 
one-third of a cupful of melted butter, two-thirds of a cupful of 
sugar, one-half cupful of shredded citron, one cupful of chopped 
raisins and three or four cupfuls of flour. Turn out on a board, knead 
lightly until smooth and shape into twelve round biscuits. Roll each 
biscuit to one-quarter of an inch in thickness, place on a well greased 
pan and cut across each way in quarters. Let rise until doubled in 
bulk, brush with beaten egg diluted with water; bake from fifteen to 
twenty minutes in moderate oven. 

Bran Raisin Muffins 

Mix and sift together one and one-half cupfuls of flour, one tea- 
spoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one-half tea- 
spoonful of baking soda. Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one 
and one-half cupfuls of bran. Mix one egg well beaten with one-half 
cupful of molasses and one and one-half cupfuls of milk and combine 
mixtures. Stir in two tablespoonfuls of melted fat and one cupful of 
raisins. Pour into well greased muffin pans and bake in a moderate 
oven about thirty minutes. 

Raisins and Peanut Balls 

Put one cupful of shelled peanuts and one cupful of seeded raisins 
through food chopper, using large blade. Moisten with molasses, sirup 
or honey, so that the mixture can be molded easily. Form into small 
balls, roll in finely chopped peanuts and set in the ice box for an hour. 

58 



REASONS FOR RAISINS 



Sultana Biscuits 

Mix and sift two cupfuls of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, four 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Rub 
in four tablespoonfuls of shortening and one cupful of sultana raisins. 
Beat one egg, add three-quarters of a cupful of milk and stir into the 
dry mixture to make a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board, roll 
to one-third of an inch in thickness, cut with a small cutter and place 
on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes. 

Peach and Raisin Conserve 

Soak one pound of dried peaches in one quart of cold water over 
night. In the morning add two cupfuls of raisins, cut in pieces, one- 
half pound of walnut meats, juice of one lemon and one orange, one 
orange cut in thin slices and one pound of sugar. Heat to boiling point 
and let simmer about one hour or until thick. Stir constantly, as the 
mixture thickens, to prevent burning. 

Raisin Filling 

Mix one cupful of chopped raisins, one-half cupful of sugar, one- 
half cupful of water, two teaspoonfuls of flour and one teaspoonful of 
lemon juice and cook until thick. Cool before using. 



59 



000000000000(X)00C«XX3CXXXXD000000CXXX)000<X)0000C>0000CICOCKXXXX)^^ 



The Mother of Civilization 



JL oo 



WHY MILK IS MAN'S MOST 
IMPORTANT FOOD 



OOD is the most important factor in life, 
though few beheve it. Otherwise fewer would die 
young, more would grow strong, and millions who 
wonder why they don't feel fit could banish such 
fruitless speculation and replace it with productive 
achievement, prosperity and happiness. 

Three-meals-a-day has become such a matter of 
habit that the average person thinks as little of diet 
as of breathing. A few who have studied the values 
of food and its varied effects on the body know that 
most of our physical problems — whether of defects 
or diseases — can be solved through what we eat. 
The many who never think beyond temporary sat- 
isfaction of appetite, pleasing the palate, and select- 
ing what is easiest to get and prepare, so ignore these 
facts that it's a wonder we live and work as long as 
we do. 

Think of life as a long road, lined on both sides 
with structures of varied sort and size and in differ- 
ing states of preservation. Think of these structures 
as representing the many kinds of food we eat. 

We start along this road, and whether we travel 
afoot or in state ; no matter how far we have to go or 
what our earth-errand, each of us must stop twice 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

or thrice daily at one of these houses to keep going. 

Some of them are mere half -built shacks, some 
fairly comfortable shelters, while others stand out 
like well-ordered homes. These latter are the vital 
foods — palaces of the palate ; fine edifices of energy 
and efficiency; radiating centers for vim, vigor and 
vitality. 

Among them is one which towers above all others. 
It is so much more spacious and attractive than the 
rest that the traveler instantly wants to know 
about it. 

"I always had thought there were many foods of 
equal value," he says. "Surely that cannot be the 
case, else why this structure of overshadowing size 
and beauty." 

Cm-ious to know the nature of the food upon 
which this chief house is founded, the traveler pauses 
to read the name above the great door, and is aston- 
ished to find the one word "Milk/' 

"Why, I must have been here when I was a baby! 
I must have been here when I was sick or recovering 
from illness. I must have stopped here often, yet 
never before had I any idea of its size and magnifi- 
cence." 

This traveler is like millions of others who have 
taken and now are on the same road. Because he is 
an American and because nature has favored Amer- 
ica as a great dairy country, it never has occurred 
to him that milk is a rich and peculiar blessing. In- 
deed, he has regarded milk more as a beverage than 
an indispensable food. 

61 



THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 

He has seen much milk wasted. Until only a few 
years ago, he lived under absurd laws which forbade 
the sale of skimmed milk. Any idea that milk is 
intimately related to man's moral and social advance 
has been as far from his thoughts as is the nearest 
fixed star from the outer crust of this whirling ball 
on which we live, eat and work. 

Had he started down the road of life which 
branches into China, he never would have come to 
this palace of milk. With stunted body and dor- 
mant mind, he would have eked out his little span 
as a drudge-member of a relatively useless huge 
group of humans. 

For milk, more than any other one food, has de- 
termined the destiny of modern peoples! If this 
seems a strange, bold statement, let me tell you some 
of the facts that science has discovered and proved 
about milk. 

First, remember we are as we eat ! 

A few know this, not because of their faith in the 
power of food, but because of definite facts proved 
by the microscope and by human experience. Fewer 
still believe it. The day of doubt as to food's place 
in man's progress still is at high noon. But the dawn 
of another day — one of defeat for all such doubts — 
is at hand. 

The great war proved food's decisive power in a 
way never before dreamed possible. The peace we 
now have entered probably will unveil to man a still 
mightier force in food. For hardly a moon wanes 
without the return of some new Columbus from the 

62 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

shores of test and investigation, with news of some 
great discovery in nutrition. 

This palace of milk lifts its gleaming towers high 
above all other food-shelters on the road of life, first 
because milk is the one complete food. 

Henry C. Sherman, Professor of Food Chemis- 
try at Columbia, says that it is the one article of diet 
whose sole function in nature is to serve as food, 
and the one food for which there is no satisfactory 
substitute. Dr. McCollum, Director of the School 
of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins, 
and many other eminent scientists have acclaimed it 
the one food which contains all elements necessary to 
the growth, development, repair and maintenance 
of the body. 

There are at least five food fundamentals man 
must have. These are fats, which give heat ; carbo- 
hydrates, which provide energy ; protein, which fur- 
nishes material for body-building and repair; min- 
eral salts, which supply the blood and tissue cells 
with certain elements vital to the working of the 
body machinery, and vitamines — substances little 
understood but without which the other four ele- 
ments do not suffice for normal sustenance. 

The white fluid which comes from the cow con- 
tains all of these necessary foods « in generous 
measure. 
Milk Richest in Fats 

There is no richer, finer fat in the world than the 
butter fat suspended in milk in infinitesimally small 
globules. No carbohydrate is more easily assimilated 

63 



THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 

by the human stomach than the sugar in milk. Its 
albumin and casein rank at the head of the list of 
proteins. In necessary mineral salts it supplies cal- 
cium, sodium, iron, magnesium, potassium and others 
which the body needs in smaller measure. 

Such a combination of values in a single food — 
and in one which can be fed alike to the youngest 
child and the oldest man, which strengthens the 
weak and makes the strong stronger — is without 
parallel. In itself, this is enough to make milk first 
among foodstuffs. 

But as if nature were insistent upon proving 
what matchless benefits she could crowd into one 
gift, we find milk richer in vitamines than any other 
food. 

As I said before, we know little about vitamines. 
beyond this — that no matter how complete a diet 
may be in fats, carbohydrates, protein and mineral 
salts, deficiency of vitamines renders it incapable of 
producing growth in the child and youth or main- 
taining strength and body balance in maturity and 
old age. It has been proved beyond doubt that some 
of the most disastrous diseases — beriberi and pella- 
gra, for instance — are caused by lack of vitamines in 
the diet. 

So nature holds out milk to man and says, "Here 
is the one food you can safely feed your babies. 
Here is the best food you can give your growing 
children and your youths and maidens standing on 
the threshold of manhood and womanhood. Here is 
ideal nutriment for men and women who use their 

64i 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

hands and brains. Here is a perfect food for those 
dedining days of Hfe when the body machinery is 
worn and needs to be carefully dealt with. 

"The fat and carbohydrates in this food will not 
overtax your stomach. The protein is of a sort that 
fits in more amicably with body needs than any other. 
The casein is easily digested and assimilated and acts 
as a natural nerve tonic. And, just to give you full 
measure of worth in one material, its minerals and 
vitamines are so generously apportioned as to make 
it invaluable for these alone, regardless of its other 
provisions." 

Now, civilization is the sum total of man's ad- 
vance on the up road from the prehistoric jungle to 
the perfect city of peace and justice. The cornerstone 
of all such advance is a physical body, strong, free 
from defects or disease, and in every way capable of 
supporting a sane, clear mind. 
The Role of Food 

There are exceptional cases in which an infirm 
body may house a capable brain. It is the rule, how- 
ever, that mental worth exists in direct ratio to 
physical fitness. And we know, from our own ex- 
perience and the results of scientific investigation, 
that the relation between normal bodies and good 
morals is so close as to defy any suggestion of 
accident. 

We know how much crime is caused by body de- 
fects, because we have seen criminal tendencies 
cured by the relief of such defects. We know immor- 
ality often is the result of malnutrition, which leads 

65 



THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 

to physical inefficiency and helps to pave the way 
to poverty. It is true that the overfed and the un- 
derfed are not able to use their brains to the best 
advantage. It is a startling fact that a large share 
of all mental and material distress is due to two 
physical disorders which are caused by wrong food 
and can be cured by right food — indigestion and 
constipation. 

Weave all these strands of fact into one cord and 
you have a strong rope of flawless reasoning upon 
which to hang the statement that food is the prime 
arbiter in mental and moral and spiritual — as well 
as physical — development. 

Measure the extent and worth of the varied food 
elements in milk, and you have indisputable evi- 
dence that this one food is the mainstay in all such 
advance, and therefore may be regarded as the 
mother of civilization. 

That unadorned, paper-capped bottle in the re- 
frigerator, or on the kitchen table — how like a fairy 
flask of unlimited powers and possibilities it appears 
when we think of what it means to health and human 
happiness ! 

And when we think of its economic significance, 
we find it a fairy-dream come true! For so rich 
is good milk in food value that at almost any price 
it provides cheaper nutriment than can be got in any 
other form. For instance, one quart of milk equals 
in food value three-fourths of a pound of beefsteak, 
three-fifths of a pound of ham, one pint of oysters, 
eight eggs, two pounds of chicken, four-fifths of a 

66 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

pound of pork chops, or three pounds of fresh 
codfish. 

These figures evidence the foolishness of boycot- 
ting milk when prices happen to advance a cent or 
two. Even at the present time, when all food prices 
have soared to unprecedented heights, milk is the 
cheapest animal food we can buy. Yet, as W. H. 
Jordan, director of the New York Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station, has said: 

"For some reason the public is exceedingly sen- 
sitive to any increase in the price of milk, while it 
treats with comparative complacency an increase in 
the cost of meats, flour and other staple products. 
It is important, therefore, if we are to maintain the 
necessary supply of milk, that the public shall be 
educated to understand its relative value. A cele- 
brated authority, Dr. Graham Lusk, has recently 
stated that a family of five cannot afford to purchase 
meat until it has bought three quarts of milk." 

There are justifiable reasons for the advance in 
the cost of milk. In the first place, the law, reflect- 
ing the public demand, has set new and exacting 
sanitary standards for every step in its production 
and distribution, and these add largely to the first 
costs. In the second place, increasing concentration 
of population in cities has, of necessity, widened the 
area from which milk supply must be drawn and, as 
a natural consequence, increased the average cost 
of transportation. 

But, until its price mounts far above present fig- 

67 



THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 

ures, no one should make this excuse for Hmited use 
of this perfect food. 

Not all of the wonder of milk as a food is to be 
found in the raw white fluid we Americans consume 
annually in one form or other to the extent of more 
than 8,000,000,000 gallons. To be sure, the raw 
material itself is wonderful enough — for think of a 
complete food which needs no preparation in order 
to play its high part in man's life! — but it is very 
perishable. In order to keep it fit for human con- 
sumption it must be guarded with a certain tem- 
perature and defended against germ foes which 
would make it a menace instead of a blessing. 

Condensed Milk 

Where such protection is not possible; where 
climatic or other conditions stand in the way, or 
where it is more convenient to have on hand a milk 
supply that can be tapped at any hour of the day or 
night in any kind of weather, this blessing is avail- 
able in the form of condensed or evaporated milk. 

Condensed milk is fresh cow's milk from which a 
large amount of water has been taken and a certain 
amount of sugar added. Evaporated milk is the 
fresh article with the water percentage greatly re- 
duced. 

Either of these can be used in place of fresh milk 
for nearly any purpose, and each offers one advan- 
tage to the consumer — absolute purity. 

The standard for these productions has been set 
as follows by a joint committee from the American 

68 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

Association of Dairy, Food and Drug Officials, the 
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and 
the Federal Department of Agriculture : 

"Condensed milk, evaporated milk, concentrated milk, is 
the product resulting from the evaporation of a consider- 
able portion of the water from the whole, fresh, clean, lac- 
teal secretion obtained by the complete milking of one or 
more healthy cows, properly fed and kept, excluding that 
obtained within fifteen days before or ten days after calv- 
ing, and contains, all tolerances being allowed for, not less 
than twenty-five and five-tenths per cent (25.5%) of total 
solids and not less than seven and eight-tenths (7.8%) 
of milk fat." 

Fresh milk is bulky and its transportation is ex- 
pensive. Under normal conditions it remains fit for 
consumption not more than two or three days. This, 
of course, limits its food use. And but for condensed, 
evaporated and powdered milk, such difficulties 
could not be overcome. With these handy, pure and 
economical forms of milk available, this admirable 
food is placed within easy reach of everyone at every 
season. 

Another popular and highly nutritious form of 
this perfect food is malted milk. In the manufacture 
of this, nearly all of the water in cow's milk is elim- 
inated and the strength-giving parts of malted grain 
are added, increasing the natural nutritive value of 
the milk. 

Some idea of the relative food-worth of these dif- 
ferent forms of milk may be gained from the fact 
that the caloric value of an ounce of cow's milk is 
21.38; of an ounce of condensed milk, 104.24; and 

69 



THE MOTHER OF CIVILIZATION 

of malted milk, 131. Raw milk contains 4% butter 
fat, 3%% carbohydrates and 8714% water. Con- 
densed milk contains 9%% butter fat, S% protein, 
43% sugar (carbohydrates) and 25% water. Malted 
milk contains 9% butter fat, 12l/4% protein, 74% 
carbohydrates and only 1%% water. So aside from 
the highly important content of vitamines, the con- 
densed, evaporated and malted forms of milk have 
far more food value than the fluid in its natural 
form. 

Powdered Milk 

It is also possible to buy powdered milk, made 
from whole or skimmed milk and labeled according- 
ly, which contains the concentrated nutriment of 
milk, all water having been evaporated. This is 
largely used in the manufacture of candy, baker's 
confectionery, and ice cream. 

Thus it is seen that man's ingenuity, applied to 
nature's most nearly perfect food, makes it possible 
to use milk under any and all circumstances. And 
yet it is a fact that even in our own land there are 
hosts of men and women and children who do not 
begin to get as much milk as they or the nation need. 

For the nation, first of all, needs able-bodied citi- 
zens, and such citizens come only through properly 
nourished children. No matter how well nourished 
a child may be after birth, it cannot meet the maxi- 
mum requirements of physical development unless 
its mother was properly nourished prior to its birth. 

The federal government and all food scientists 

70 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 

and dietitians are agreed that every child should be 
given not less than one quart of milk a day. The gov- 
ernment and these experts know that the cornerstone 
of any progress worth while is right food. That is 
why they have joined forces to fight for a larger 
consumption of milk in some form in every home. 
And that is why it is the part of patriotism as well 
as of thrift and commonsense for every American 
to follow as a vital slogan these two words: "More 
milk." 



71 



RECIPES 

Malted Milk Oyster Toast 

This recipe requires: Two tablespoonfuls of butter or butter sub- 
stitute, three tablespoonfuls of flour, one cupful of hot water, two 
tablespoonfuls of malted milk, one dozen of oysters, salt and pepper 
to season, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and three slices of 
toast. Melt the butter, stir in the flour and mix thoroughly. Dissolve 
malted milk in the hot water and stir into the flour mixture. Cook until 
thickened and smooth. Add seasonings and oysters and cook slowly 
until the oysters are plump. Pour at once over slices of crisp toast and 
serve very hot. 

Evaporated Milk Loaf Cake 

Take one-half cupful of shortening, one cupful of sugar, two eggs, 
one-half cupful of evaporated milk mixed with one-quarter cupful of 
water, two cupfuls of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one 
teaspoonful of flavoring and one-eighth teaspoonful of salt. Cream 
shortening, add sugar gradually and work to a soft cream. Stir in the 
beaten egg yolks. Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt and add 
alternately with the milk to the first mixture. Fold in stiffly beaten 
egg whites and flavoring. Pour into a well greased bread tin and bake 
in a moderate oven about fifty minutes. 

Chocolate Blanc Mange 

Ingredients: Two-thirds cupful of condensed milk, two cupfuls of 
boiling water, five tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, two squares of choco- 
late, one-eighth teaspoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of vanilla. Mix 
together the milk and water and heat to the boiling point. Mix corn- 
starch with a little cold water to make a smooth paste. Stir into the 
hot milk and cook, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Add 
chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted. Remove from fire, add 
salt and vanilla and pour into a cold, wet mold. Chill, turn out and 
serve with whipped cream or custard sauce. 

Lemon Custard Pie 

Use one and one-half cupfuls of evaporated milk, one and one-half 
cupfuls of water, five tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, three-quarters cup- 
ful of sugar, the juice and grated rind of one lemon, two egg yolks, 
two egg whites and four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Mix milk 
and water and scald. Mix cornstarch and sugar together. Add lemon 
juice and rind and beaten egg yolks. Stir in the scalded milk and cook, 
stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth. Continue 
cooking over hot water for ten minutes. Remove from fire and cool 
slightly. Pour into a baked pie shell and cover with a meringue made 
of egg whites beaten until stiff with the powdered sugar. Bake in a 
slow oven until meringue is brown. 

72 



WHY MILK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOOD 
Powdered Milk Muffins 

Ingredients: Two cupfuls of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, 
four teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one tablespoonful of sugar, one 
egg, six tablespoonfuls of powdered milk, one and one-half cupfuls of 
cold water and two tablespoonfuls of melted shortening. Mix and sift 
dry ingredients. Mix powdered milk and water together and stir into 
the beaten egg. Combine mixtures, add melted shortening and pour 
into well greased muffin pans. Bake in a moderate oven about twenty- 
five minutes. Recipe will make twelve muffins of ordinary size. 

Malted Milk Tomato Bisque 

One can of tomato soup, one and one-half cupfuls of boiling water, 
and four tablesjjoonfuls of malted milk. Mix malted milk with the 
boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add tomato soup, heat to the 
boiling point and serve with croutons or bread sticks. 

Malted Milk Blanc Mange 

Two tablespoonfuls of malted milk, one and one-half tablespoonfuls 
of cornstarch, a few grains of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, one and 
one-half cupfuls of boiling water, and one-quarter teaspoonful of 
vanilla. Mix cornstarch and malted milk with a little cold water to 
make a smooth paste. Add boiling water slowly. Cook over hot water 
fifteen minutes, stirring until the mixture thickens. Add vanilla and 
pour into wet molds. Chill and serve with boiled custard or whipped 
cream. 

Powdered Milk Cocoa 

One and one-half tablespoonfuls of cocoa, two tablespoonfuls of 
sugar, two cupfuls of boiling water, two cupfuls of cold water, one-half 
cupful of powdered milk and a few grains of salt. Mix cocoa and 
sugar together and stir into the boiling water. Boil five minutes. Mix 
milk powder with cold water. Add to cocoa and reheat to boiling point. 
Add salt and beat two minutes with an egg beater. 

Cocoanut Cream Cookies 

Take one-half cupful of shortening, two-thirds cupful of sugar, two 
eggs, one-third cupful of condensed milk, two tablespoonfuls of water, 
three cupfuls of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one tea- 
spoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful 
of lemon extract and one-half cupful of grated cocoanut. Cream fat, 
add sugar gradually. Then beat in the eggs, milk and water. Add 
cocoanut and flavoring. Sift flour with salt, baking powder and cinna- 
mon and add to the first mixture. If necessary add more flour to make 
a dough that can be easily handled. Roll out one-eighth inch thick. 
Shape with a small cutter, brush with milk or water and sprinkle with 
cocoanut. Bake in a moderate oven about ten minutes. 

73 



OOC)OOOOOOOOOCOCOOOOOOOOC><X1CXXX)<X>0<X)OC>00000<XXXDCKXXXX30CX>300C^ 



The Date^ the Fig and the Prune 



THREE ALLIES OF HEALTH 
AND ECONOMY 




E are just beginning to realize that in the 
date, the fig and the prune we have highly nutri- 
tive foods rather than confections. Bearing a ban- 
ner with the encouraging legend, "For Health and 
Economy," these three good foods are marching in- 
to the homes of this land at a rate which indicates 
ultimate conquest. This is a happy sign, for nature 
has stored up in this trio a wealth of material not 
only for palate pleasure and cookery delights, but 
for health, strength and that brand of physical well- 
being which differentiates properly nourished folk 
from such malnourished specimens of humanity as 
abound in every part of the country. 

Despite the fact that dates and figs have for cen- 
turies been used as a principal article of diet by 
many eastern peoples, the average American still 
is inclined to view them as sweet dainties to be eaten 
like candy. And while they serve this purpose ex- 
ceptionally well, and are far more healthful for chil- 
dren and grown-ups than sugar confections, they 
should be given a different and larger place in our 
daily diet. 

When it comes to prunes, we have already exhib- 



ALLIES OF HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

ited a larger measure of good sense, and within the 
past twenty-five years — notably during the latter 
half of that period — we have placed this delicious 
foodstuff in somewhat the position it should occupy. 
This proper course has been influenced chiefly by 
the fact that we ourselves now grow the best prunes 
in the world and instead of importing most of the 
primes we use, we now supply nearly every country 
in the world, having exported 114,000,000 pounds 
last year alone. 

When people generally come to a clear under- 
standing of the health and economy value of these 
three dried fruits, old notions will be banished by a 
measure of common sense conducive to our best in- 
terests. As matters now stand, it is doubtful wheth- 
er one in a hundred persons has anything like the 
right conception of their remarkable food value. 

No Water in Dried Fruits 

For instance, each is notably rich in carbohydrates 
— sugar content — which supply heat and energy for 
the running of the body. Each is notably deficient 
in water — a fact of large meaning when we count 
up the cost of living, for what you spend on food 
is mostly a matter of what you spend for water. 

The average cut of beef or mutton is more than 
half water, while that of pork runs slightly lower. 
The average egg contains 65 per cent water; the 
average loaf of bread 45 per cent, and the average 
raw potato 63 per cent. 

When it comes to fruits, this water portion takes 

75 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

a tremendous leap, and the average purchase repre- 
sents payment for at least three-fourths water. It 
is this high liquid content that makes fresh fruits so 
welcome in summer time. Yet the amount we spend 
for water in our food purchases is not wholly wasted, 
especially in the case of fruits. For the liquid not 
only adds to palatability, and therefore assists in 
digestion — but also serves as a medium to carry into 
the blood certain mineral elements necessary to 
complete nutrition. 

Long ago, however, some practical-minded pre- 
historic ancestor conceived the idea of removing this 
surplus moisture from certain foodstuffs — notably 
fruits — by exposing them to sun and air and storing 
them in dry form until ready for use. In those far 
days all men were wanderers, from one part to an- 
other of the then inhabited portions of the globe, 
so it was simply a matter of commonsense to dry 
the water out of foods by exposing them to sun and 
air, and thus save weight in carrying them from one 
place to another. That was the beginning of de- 
hydration, and when the time came to eat such foods, 
it was easy enough to add water. The drying process 
had not robbed them of any inherent nutritive value. 

Fruits that are Meat for Man 

The human family at that time was centered in 
the tropic or semi-tropic regions of Asia, where the 
date palm and the fig tree have flourished since 
Adam first walked in the Garden of Eden, so it was 
natural that the date and fig should become the 

76 



ALLIES OF HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

pioneers in dried fruits. As population increased, 
and wandering tribes pushed into the region of the 
plum tree, such plunis that could not be eaten fresh 
were likewise dried. That was the origin of the 
prune. 

The nutritive value of these three foods does not 
rest alone on their high sugar or fuel content, but is 
also a matter of what might be called their medic- 
inal values. For besides supplying the body with an 
unusual ratio of nutritive material which, as science 
has proved, is easily handled by the stomach and 
well assimilated in the digestive processes, each of 
them possesses the qualities of a mild non-irritating 
natural laxative. Each, therefore, serves not onlj^ 
for the relief, but also the prevention of our national 
curse of constipation. 
Let tJie Children Have Them 

Some idea of the sustenance of this trinity may 
be gained from the fact that a pound of dried figs 
contains 1475 calories (energy units), a pound of 
dates 1615 calories, and a pound of prunes 1400 
calories. A pound of fruit in dried form containing 
about the same total of food value that would be 
found in four or five pounds of the undried fruit. 

So it is not to be wondered that our ancestors made 
large use of dried figs and dates, and later on of 
dried plums. For here is an ideal way of securing 
not only heat and energy at low cost, but also of 
fortifying the daily diet with mineral elements which 
must be included in the menu in order to provide a 
properly balanced diet. 

77 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

When, in addition to these favorable facts, we re- 
member that these dried fruits are so easily digesti- 
ble as to be available for all members of the family, 
regardless of age, for little folks or for old persons 
of weak digestion, it becomes evident that in them 
we have a veritable gold mine of goodness. Indeed, 
there is no better reason for anything than for in- 
creased use of figs, dates and prunes in our daily 
diet as staple winter foods. And while a certain 
number of people have always appreciated this, still 
large numbers do not. 

The fig is the fruit of a tree that flourishes in 
nearly all far eastern countries, also in Spain and 
Southern France. Of late years it has been largely 
cultivated on our own Pacific coast. It is most pro- 
lific, producing three crops each season, each tree 
yielding from one to two hundred pounds of fruit 
at a bearing. Among the ancient Syrians and Greeks 
it formed one of the principal articles of food, and 
there is little doubt that the physical perfection of 
the Greeks, which still is accepted as the highest 
possible standard, was due in no small measure to 
this fact. 

A Meal of Milk and Figs 

Some of the most popular figs are shipped from 
the seaport of Smyrna, and therefore are known as 
Smyrna figs. They are packed in three ways — in 
flat, tight-pressed layers and in the square-shaped 
"Locoum" packing, in which the fruit is merelj'^ 
pressed between the fingers to a somewhat cubical 

78 



ALLIES OF HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

form — sometimes called London style and in round 
or American packing known as pulled figs. The 
London style finds a ready market in New Eng- 
land, and it has the advantage that the absence of 
air passages is an additional safeguard against the 
deterioration of the fruit. Now that the supply of 
Locoum or natural shape dried figs has increased, 
we find them becoming more popular for cooking. 

Their high nutritive value entitles them to rank 
with the heartiest foods we eat — four ounces of figs 
contain as much food fuel value as three-fourths of 
a pound of lean beef round. A half pint of milk and 
six ounces of figs constitute an excellent meal. 

The date, which is the fruit of the date palm, and 
grows in enormous quantities in certain tropic lands, 
notably Arabia and Persia, is the least used in this 
country of this trio of nutritious dried fruits, date 
meal forming the bread the Arab carries as his sole 
food on long journeys. 

The date palm begins to bear at from six to eight 
years and continues to produce for many genera- 
tions, sometimes for 400 years. A single tree will 
bear as many as 3000 pounds of dates in a season, 
and it flourishes under conditions which are fatal to 
all other forms of vegetation; indeed, the finest 
dates we get come from the so-called "sunken gar- 
dens" of the Sahara Desert. 

Formerly the packing of dates was so carelessly 
done as to bring them to this country in a condi- 
tion far from tempting, but recognition of their re- 
markable food value has led to a constantly increas- 

79 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

ing effort to provide them for the pubHc properly 
cleaned and packed in sanitary packages. 

The Date Rivals Sirloin 

The date's caloric content is one and two-thirds 
that of sirloin steak. It contains 70 per cent of car- 
bohydrates and 10 per cent of nitrogenous ele- 
ments, and is one of the most easily digested of 
fruits. Little wonder that the Arab can live upon 
them under the hardest conditions. 

In selecting dates choose those which are large 
and soft, but not too sticky. The most desirable va- 
riety for food use is of a reddish brown color, not 
too much wrinkled, and with a whitish membrane 
between the flesh and the stone. 

When it comes to prunes — and every well-regu- 
lated family should come to prunes in some form at 
least once a day — it is one of the most encouraging 
of present-day food facts that last year California 
had to furnish nearly a quarter of a billion pounds 
of these dried plums to supply the demand and more 
than half of this vast quantity was consumed in the 
United States. Europe ate a large proportion of 
the other half, for during the war the American 
prune played an important part in the food supply 
of the warring countries. 

How Prunes Came to America 

The marvelous upgrowth of this industry has 
come from a single tree planted in California in 
1870 by a Frenchman named Peller. At that time 
the prunes grown and cured in France were the 

80 



ALLIES TO HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

best in the world, but it was soon found that the soil 
and climate of California were especially adapted 
to these varieties of plums, and today the California 
production alone amounts to more than that of all 
the rest of the world. 

The trees are planted 100 to an acre, and a single 
tree often yields as much as 800 pounds of fruit in 
one season. The fruit is allowed to remain on the 
tree until it falls from complete ripeness, and is then 
dried in the sun. The fruit is allowed to drop from 
the tree in order to secure the fullest ripeness and 
consequently the greatest possible sugar content. 
California prunes, in addition to their fine flavor, 
are rendered especially desirable because sterilizing 
machines are used which clean the fruit at high tem- 
perature and destroy all bacterial life. After being 
cured, the prunes are graded into ten chief sizes, 
ranking from 20 to 30 to the pound to 90 to 100. 

In buying the prunes it is economical to pay the 
slightly higher price for the larger sizes, since in the 
very small sizes the bulk of the weight is taken up 
by the inedible pit. Prunes which run 40 to 50 to 
the pound provide about the largest percentage of 
edible material, when gauged by the price ordinarily 
asked. 

Within the past decade, notably within the past 
five years, primes have made great forward strides 
as a popular food. When Uncle Sam set his seal of 
approval on them as one of the most valuable foods 
that could be served to our fighting men — and when 
his pre-emption of so large a part of the crop sent 

81 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

the prices skyward — a good many people who pre- 
viously had passed them by paused to prove their 
right to such preferment. 

One trial is sufficient, as a rule, for when properly 
cooked, stewed prunes constitute one of the most 
delicious of dishes. 

This is the Way to Stetv Them 

The best way to stew primes is to cover them with 
plenty of water and let them stand on the back of 
the range or over the simmering flame of the gas 
stove and undergo a long, slow cooking, without 
previous soaking in cold water and without addition 
of sugar during the cooking. 

They should not be allowed to come to a boil at 
any time, and should not be taken off imtil they are 
plumped firm and the skins soft. When removed 
from the stove a little sugar may be added, although 
in many cases it will be found that no extra sweet- 
ening is needed. They should stand at least twenty- 
four hours before serving. This brings out their 
full flavor and makes them wonderfully tender and 
delicious. All things considered, the prune is one 
of the most nutritious articles of diet we have, for 
they contain large amoimts of protein and easily 
digestible sugar. 

There are many ways of serving these three dried 
fruits. Within the past few years cooking experts 
have paid special attention to them so that it is easy 
to include one of them in the menu at least once a 
day throughout the year without tiring those who 

82 



ALLIES TO HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

sit at the table. They are as well adapted to sub- 
stantial dishes as to desserts, and the fact that sub- 
stantial dishes can be made of the latter is a large 
point in their favor. 

A Triumphant Food Trinity 

They can be eaten in some form or other by every 
member of the family — even babies find them a wel- 
come addition to their simple diet when cooked soft 
and the pulp crushed — and prunes are often in- 
cluded in special diets for invalids, the juice being 
frequently employed as a vehicle for purgative 
medicines. Because of their concentrated form they 
are easily kept, though they should not be pur- 
chased in too large quantities in warm weather. 

They constitute a really triumphant trinity in any 
consideration of food, whether weighed in the bal- 
ance of nutritive worth or economic value. They 
supply health, strength and goodness in a single 
package, so to speak, and during the winter months 
they take the place of fresh fruits whose peculiar 
nutritive elements are so needed by the body, but 
which are so often beyond the reach of the average 
pocketbook. 

In every home where good food is enjoyed, yet 
where eating is regarded as something more than a 
mere pleasing of the palate, the date, the fig and 
the prune deserve to be used with much the same 
regularity as now attends the potato and the meat 
dish. Their food value places them far ahead of the 
former and gives them good right to march in front 

83 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

of the latter in the great procession of edible prod- 
ucts. Until we have learned to make larger use of 
them we shall be neglecting a rare opportimity to 
pleasantly and economically build up the best of all 
possessions — a sound body fit to house a sane mind. 
With the beginning of the New Year why not put 
among your resolutions "Eat more fruit," "Keep 
well through food," "Give more thought to diet." 
Any one of these slogans would bring your atten- 
tion to these excellent dried fruits which provide 
larger nutrition at less cost than the fresh varieties, 
and especially is this true when supplies run low in 
the winter time. 



84 



DRIED FRUIT DELICACIES 

Prune and Nut Salad 

Wash one-half pound of large prunes and cover with cold water. 
Simmer very slowly until tender. Drain and chill. Cut the prunes in 
pieces lengthwise and mix with one-fourth pound of pecan or walnut 
meats cut in lengthwise pieces. Mix one-third cupful of oil with three 
tablespoon fills of lemon juice, one-half teaspoonful of salt and one- 
fourth teaspoonful of paprika. Toss the nuts and prunes in the dress- 
ing and serve in nests of crisp lettuce as a relish with cold roast meat, 
duck or goose. 

Stuffed Prune Salad 

Wash one-half pound of large prunes, cover with cold water and 
simmer for fifteen minutes. Drain, place in a colander and steam until 
tender. Cool, cut a slit in each and remove pit. Set aside to chill. Mash 
one cream cheese with one-half teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth tea- 
spoonful of paprika and enough mayonnaise to moisten. Fill the cavi- 
ties in the prunes with the cheese mixture and serve on lettuce with 
French dressing. Grated American or Edam cheese may be used 
instead of the cream cheese if desired. 

Fruit Bread 

Sift together one cupful of flour, one and one-fourth cupfuls of 
graham flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, four teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder, one teaspoonful of salt. Rub in five tablespoonfuls of shorten- 
ing. Beat two eggs until light, add one cupful of milk and one-fourth 
cupful of molasses. Stir into the dry mixture and add three-fourths 
cupful of figs chopped fine, one-fourth cupful of dates, cut in small 
pieces and six prunes, chopped fine. Pour into a well greased bread 
pan and let stand thirty minutes. Bake in a moderate oven about forty 
minutes. Let stand twenty-four hours before slicing. One-fourth 
cupful of chopped nuts may be added if desired. 

Prune Cornbread 

Wash one-half pound of prunes, cover with cold water and simmer 
for fifteen minutes. Drain and steam until tender, then remove pits 
and cut prunes in small pieces. Mix and sift one cupful of cornmeal, 
one cupful of flour, three-fourths teaspoonful of baking soda, one and 
one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder and one teaspoonful of salt. 
Add one tablespoonful of sugar. Mix together one well-beaten egg and 
one and one-fourth cupfuls of sour milk. Stir into the dry mixture, add 
three tablespoonfuls of melted shortening and the prunes. Pour into a 
well greased shallow pan and bake in a hot oven about twenty minutes. 

Cornmeal Muffins With Dates 

Cook together in a double boiler for five minutes one cupful of corn- 
meal, two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, two 

85 



THE DATE, THE FIG AND THE PRUNE 

tablespoonfuls of shortening and one and one-fourth cupfuls of milk. 
C!ool the mixture until lukewarm, add one egg, well beaten, and one 
cupful of flour sifted with four teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Beat 
until smooth, stir in one cupful of dates, cut in small pieces, and pour 
into well greased muffin pans. Bake in a moderate oven about thirty 
minutes. 

Prune Stuffing 

Mix two cupfuls of stale bread crumbs with two-thirds cupful of 
melted shortening, one teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth teaspoonful of 
pepper and one-half teaspoonful of sage. Add one apple, peeled and 
chopped fine and one cupful of stewed, drained prunes cut in small 
pieces. Moisten with prune juice and use to stuff turkey, duck or goose. 

Date and Orange Salad 

Soak two tablespoonfuls of gelatine in one-fourth cupful of cold 
water. Dissolve over hot water and stir into two and one-half cupfuls 
of grape juice. Add one-half cupful of sugar and stir until the sugar 
dissolves. Cool until beginning to stiffen. In the meantime remove the 
pits from two cupfuls of dates and stuff the centers with nut meats. 
Peel two oranges and separate into sections. Arrange half the orange 
sections and half the dates in a cold, wet mold. Fill the mold with the 
gelatine mixture and chill. Turn out on small lettuce leaves and garnish 
with the rest of the orange and dates. Serve with cream mayonnaise. 

Parisian Sandwich Filling 

Soak one cupful of prunes over night, drain, remove pits. Put 
through a meat chopper with one cupful of dates and one cupful of 
figs. Add enough orange juice to make a paste that can be easily 
spread. Spread on slices of graham, whole wheat or white bread. This 
filling will keep a long while in a covered jar and may be used as a 
cake filling if desired. 

Fruited Cereal 

Stir one cupful of farina or two cupfuls of oatmeal into one quart 
of rapidly boiling salted water. Cook for five minutes, stirring con- 
stantly, then put in a double boiler and cook for forty to sixty minutes. 
Fifteen minutes before serving stir in one cupful of finely chopped 
dates or figs. 

Imperial Tapioca 

stir one-half cupful of minute tapioca into two and one-half cupfuls 
of boiling water. Add one teaspoonful of salt and one inch of stick 
cinnamon and cook until clear, stirring constantly at first. Remove 
from the stove, take out the cinnamon and add one glass of currant 
jelly, one-half cupful of chopped figs, one-half cupful of chopped dates 
and one-fourth cupful of chopped nuts. Sweeten to taste and serve 
hot or cold with cream or custard sauce. 

86 



ALLIES OF HEALTH AND ECONOMY 

Jellied Prune Whip 

Wash one-half pound of prunes, cover with cold water and simmer 
slowly until tender. Add one-half cupful of sugar and simmer five 
minutes longer. Drain, saving juice, remove stones and cut the prunes 
in very small pieces. Soak two tablespoonfuls of gelatine in one-fourth 
cupful of cold water for five minutes and stir into the hot prune juice. 
Add juice of one large lemon and cool until beginning to stiffen, then 
whip until light and foamy. Fold in the prunes and the stiffly beaten 
whites of two eggs. Pour into a mold or serving dish and serve very 
cold. Garnish with whipped cream. 



87 











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